Womankind – August 2019

123123 WHAT’S ON

MUSEO NACIONAL DEL PRADO

Madrid, Spain

Velázquez, Rembrandt,

Vermeer. Parallel visions

Until 29 September 2019

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

Parkes, Canberra

Matisse / Picasso

13 December 2019 - 13 April 2020

PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

Arizona

Agnes Pelton: Desert

Transcendentalist

Until 8 September 2019

The obscurity of American painter

Agnes Pelton was in part self-im-

posed. Following her studies and

work in Europe and New York, she

moved west, settling in Cathedral

City, California, in the 1930s. There,

away from the mainstream art world,

she painted abstract compositions

infused with symbolism, based on her

studies of spiritualism and numerol-

ogy. Agnes Pelton (1881–1961) was

among the generation of American

artists in the first decades of the

twentieth century who rejected re-

This exhibition on late 16th and

early 17th century Dutch and

Spanish painting is the result of an

extensive research project on the

part of the Museum, arising from a

collaborative agreement with the

Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which

will be lending a significant group

of works. The exhibition will offer a

reflection on the pictorial traditions

represented by Spain and the Low

Countries. While art-history litera-

ture, particularly that generated in

Holland, has considered these tra-

ditions as essentially different, this

exhibition will aim to juxtapose

the historical myths and artistic re-

alities of the two countries and to

reflect on the numerous traits that

they share. In order to appreciate

these parallels the exhibition will

include major works by artists such

as Velázquez, Rembrandt, Ribera,

Frans Hals, and Vermeer.

alism in favour of portraying their

inner emotional states. Pelton’s de-

cision to remove herself from the art

world meant that even within her

lifetime she was relatively unknown.

The rivalry between Henri Matisse

and Pablo Picasso is one of the most

important stories of modern art, and

the subject of the NGA’s major ex-

hibition Matisse/Picasso. Drawn from

some 40 important international

collections, Matisse/Picasso shows

how these two pioneers of modern

art both shared the need to confront

the challenges set by the paintings

of Paul Cézanne and mined each

other’s work to enhance their own.

In the early twentieth century Pi-

casso became a colossus of modern

art. Many of the younger generation

of avant-garde artists who had ini-

tially been inspired by Matisse and

Fauvism turned to Picasso for inspi-

ration. This exhibition follows the

paths these two artists took over de-

cades as they responded to the oth-

er’s work. No one was more watchful

of Matisse’s art than Picasso and vice

versa. Both explored pictorial issues

in unique ways, but always remained

on guard while looking over their

shoulder at the other. Both artists

felt the necessity to acknowledge

and absorb the concept and skill of

each other.

123 WHAT’S ON

MUSEO NACIONAL DEL PRADO

Madrid, Spain

Velázquez, Rembrandt,

Vermeer. Parallel visions

Until 29 September 2019

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

Parkes, Canberra

Matisse / Picasso

13 December 2019 - 13 April 2020

PHOENIXARTMUSEUM

Arizona

AgnesPelton:Desert

Transcendentalist

Until8 September 2019

The obscurity of American painter

Agnes Pelton was in part self-im-

posed. Following her studies and

workinEuropeandNewYork,she

moved west, settling in Cathedral

City,California,inthe1930s.There,

awayfromthemainstreamartworld,

she painted abstract compositions

infusedwithsymbolism,basedonher

studiesofspiritualismandnumerol-

ogy.AgnesPelton(1881–1961)was

among thegenerationof American

artists in the first decades of the

twentiethcentury who rejectedre-

This exhibition on late 16th and
early 17th century Dutch and
Spanish painting is the result of an
extensive research project on the
part of the Museum, arising from a
collaborative agreement with the
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which
will be lending a significant group
of works. The exhibition will offer a
reflection on the pictorial traditions
represented by Spain and the Low
Countries. While art-history litera-
ture, particularly that generated in
Holland, has considered these tra-
ditions as essentially different, this
exhibition will aim to juxtapose
the historical myths and artistic re-
alities of the two countries and to
reflect on the numerous traits that
they share. In order to appreciate
these parallels the exhibition will
include major works by artists such
as Velázquez, Rembrandt, Ribera,
Frans Hals, and Vermeer.

alism in favour of portraying their

inner emotional states. Pelton’s de-

cision to remove herself from the art

world meant that even within her

lifetime she was relatively unknown.

The rivalry between Henri Matisse

and Pablo Picasso is one of the most

important stories of modern art, and

the subject of the NGA’s major ex-

hibition Matisse/Picasso. Drawn from

some 40 important international

collections, Matisse/Picasso shows

how these two pioneers of modern

art both shared the need to confront

the challenges set by the paintings

of Paul Cézanne and mined each

other’s work to enhance their own.

In the early twentieth century Pi-

casso became a colossus of modern

art. Many of the younger generation

of avant-garde artists who had ini-

tially been inspired by Matisse and

Fauvism turned to Picasso for inspi-

ration. This exhibition follows the

paths these two artists took over de-

cades as they responded to the oth-

er’s work. No one was more watchful

of Matisse’s art than Picasso and vice

versa. Both explored pictorial issues

in unique ways, but always remained

on guard while looking over their

shoulder at the other. Both artists

felt the necessity to acknowledge

and absorb the concept and skill of

each other.