Release Date: September 12, 2003

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART FALL LECTURE PROGRAM CELEBRATES THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art presents eight illustrated lectures as part of its fall and winter programs celebrating various highlights of the Italian Renaissance. Showcasing newly opened exhibitions, recent art research, and close looks at well-known artists and time periods, the lectures are free and open to the public. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-seated basis. Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place Sundays at 2:00 p.m. in the East Building Large Auditorium. For the most up-to-date information about these programs, visit www.nga.gov/programs/lecture.htm.

September 11
2:00 p.m.
“The Beautiful Banker: Raphael’s Portrait of Bindo Altoviti and Its Story”
If bankers are notoriously stuffy, why does Bindo Altoviti appear so alluring in his portrait by Raphael in the National Gallery of Art? Coauthors David Alan Brown, curator, Italian Renaissance paintings, National Gallery of Art, and Jane van Nimmen, independent scholar, Vienna, Austria, interpret this provocative image of the Florentine banker who swore to destroy the Medici dynasty and trace its fascinating trajectory over the centuries. A book signing follows.

September 18
2:00 p.m.
“Orsanmichele and the Invention of Renaissance Sculpture”
The National Gallery of Art’s Eleonora Luciano, assistant curator of sculpture, and Nicholas Penny, senior curator of sculpture and decorative arts, introduce the exhibition Monumental Sculpture from Renaissance Florence: Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco, and Verrocchio at Orsanmichele.

September 25
2:00 p.m.
“Renaissance Princes, Victorian Vandals, and Modern Moguls: Collecting Italian Manuscript Illumination”
Thomas Kren, curator of manuscripts, J. Paul Getty Museum, discusses the history of collecting Italian manuscript illumination. The lecture is organized in conjunction with the newly opened exhibition of stunning examples of Italian manuscript illumination from the 12th to the 16th centuries, Masterpieces in Miniature: Italian Manuscript Illumination from the J. Paul Getty Museum.

October 23
2:00 p.m.
“Renaissance Art Discovers the Icon”
Alexander Nagel, Andrew W. Mellon Professor, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, presents a reevaluation of how Byzantine art was received by Italian Renaissance artists and collectors.

November 6
2:00 p.m.
“Titian Paints Isabella d’Este”
What is behind Titian’s brilliant portrayal of Isabella d’Este, one of the most powerful rulers of Renaissance Italy? Joanna Woods-Marsden, professor of art history, University of California–Los Angeles and author of numerous publications on Renaissance portraiture, presents a new look at a superb portrait.

November 13
2:00 p.m.
The Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art
“Illuminated Choral Manuscripts of the Italian Renaissance”
Jonathan J. G. Alexander, Sherman Fairchild Professor of Fine Arts, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, is an expert on Italian manuscript illumination. This is the ninth lecture the Gallery has offered in a series named for the great specialist of Italian art, Sydney J. Freedberg. The subject of this year’s lecture coincides with the newly opened exhibition, Masterpieces in Miniature: Italian Manuscript Illumination from the J. Paul Getty Museum.

November 14
12:10 and 1:10 p.m.
East Building Small Auditorium
“The Mermaid in the Study: Renaissance Bronzes of Hybrid Sea Creatures”
Fantastic sea creatures abound in the Renaissance art of Venice and its subject city Padua. Alison Luchs, the Gallery’s curator of early European sculpture, is researching a book on the subject and discusses the purposes and meanings of some bronze examples in the Gallery’s collection.

December 5
12:10 and 1:10 p.m.
East Building Small Auditorium
“The Art of the Name: Some Sixteenth-Century Italian Artists’ Names”
Names reveal status, style, place of origin, and even sexuality. In this lecture, Robert G. LaFrance, research associate, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, explores the relationship between some Italian Renaissance artists’ names and their individual practices.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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