Five Centuries Of European Masterworks At Wadsworth Atheneum

HARTFORD — With the return of its Old Master paintings from a three-year national tour, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is presenting the glories of its collections in “Faith and Fortune: Five Centuries of European Masterworks” through December 9.

Drawing upon the fine and decorative arts of the Renaissance through the Neo-Classical and Romantic eras, “Faith and Fortune” showcases approximately 500 treasures: more than 125 paintings, exquisite objects made of bronze, silver, ivory, ceramics, and glass, and select sculptures. 

These paintings and other two- and three-dimensional objects are being shown as never before, intermixed and arranged by chronology, geography, and theme, to provide windows into the historical and cultural realms where these works originated.

“While these remarkable collections have lived together under the Atheneum’s roof for many decades,” said Director Willard Holmes, “this will be the first time visitors will see them presented in a unified approach, telling the story of western artistic genius over five centuries.”

Recurring themes include the creation of art as an expression of religious faith and its display for devotional purposes; art as a symbol of personal honor, reputation, and wealth, with some being objects of practical use; and art as a demonstration of intellectual achievement. Other leitmotifs include exploration and discovery, invention and trade, historicism, and a taste for the exotic, such as Chinoiserie.

The Atheneum’s European art collections have their origins in bequests from J. Pierpont Morgan and from Frank C. Sumner, who established The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner acquisition fund in 1927.  Other generous donors have contributed to the growth and quality of these collections.

European Paintings

The Wadsworth Atheneum’s Renaissance, baroque, and rococo masterpieces are world famous. A. Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., museum director from 1927 to 1944, began this collection when such works were out of fashion.

The Atheneum acquired notable examples by Strozzi, Luca Giordano, and the first authentic Caravaggio in an American museum, “The Ecstasy of St. Francis.” Spanish and Northern paintings of the 17th Century also were purchased, including works by the great French landscape painter Claude Lorraine and unusual works by Sweerts and Valdés Leal. 

Austin’s successor, Charles C. Cunningham, built on this foundation, adding baroque and rococo treasures by Frans Hals, Zurbarán, and Panini. More recently have come examples by Vouet, Cigoli, Cuyp, Valerio Castello, and Goltzius.

The result is a collection beginning with Renaissance masters, such as Piero di Cosimo and Sebastiano del Piombo, continuing with the finest examples of Baroque painting, and culminating in a blaze of rococo splendor with Tiepolo, Canaletto, Guardi, Meléndez, Greuze, and Goya.

Holdings from the Neo-Classical and Romantic eras feature works by Delacroix, Ingres, Turner, Corot, and Crolla; theatrical subjects by Fuseli and Maclise; and sculptures by Gérôme, Barye, and Rodin.

J. Pierpont Morgan Collection

At the bequest of the famous financier and ambitious collector J. Pierpont Morgan (who was born and raised in Hartford), 1,325 works of art arrived at the Atheneum in 1917. These include ancient bronzes and glass, but the majority are European decorative arts objects: Renaissance majolica; baroque glass, silver, mounted ivories, nautilus cups, and other Kunstkammer objects; Meissen porcelain; and French 18th-century porcelain.  The museum continues to acquire superb objects to complement and augment the Morgan Collection.

Elizabeth B. Miles Silver

Collection

This collection illustrates the mastery of British silversmiths and the stylistic evolution in English domestic silver over three centuries, from the early 16th to the 19th Centuries.

Elizabeth B. Miles, a native of New London, who was the daughter of Theodore Bodenwein, the owner and publisher of The Day newspaper, began collecting English silver in 1956. She made her first gift to the Atheneum in 1965; the bulk of her collection was bequeathed to the museum in 1979.

The Richard and Georgette A. Koopman Collection of Dutch Delft

Composed of more than sixty pieces, the majority made in Delft in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Koopman Collection represents numerous forms and styles of both Western- and Asian-themed decoration. There are plates, bowls, tiles, plaques, tulip vases, strawberry dishes, butter tubs, cow creamers, and tobacco jars.  Some pieces are decorated in polychrome enamels.

The collection came to the Atheneum in 2004, at the bequest of Georgette A. Koopman, a long time member of the museum’s board of trustees and curatorial committee. An enormously generous and supportive individual, she remained closely involved with the museum until her death.

“Faith and Fortune: Five Centuries of European Masterworks” has been organized by Linda H. Roth, the Charles C. and Eleanor Lamont Cunningham Curator of European Decorative Arts, and Eric M. Zafran, the Susan Morse Hilles Curator of European Art.

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, at 600 Main Street in Hartford, is open Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 5 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. It is also open the first Thursday of each month until 8 pm.

Regular admission is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, and $5 for students (ages 13 through college with student ID). Children ages 12 and under are admitted free of charge.

After 5 pm on the first Thursday of each month, admission is $5 for ages 13 and up. Group rates and reservations are available; call 860-838-4046.

Visit www.WadsworthAtheneum.org or call 860-278-2670 for additional information; TDD is 860-278-0294.