FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACTS: Kathleen Brady Stimpert, 512-‐475-‐6784, [email protected] Tessa Krieger-‐Carlisle, 512-‐471-‐8433, [email protected]
PAINTINGS FROM ESTEEMED SPANISH COLONIAL COLLECTION OFFER NEW INSIGHT INTO
DEPICTIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY
Re-‐envisioning the Virgin Mary: Colonial Painting from South America On View through July 3, 2016
AUSTIN, Texas – August 27, 2015 – The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin recently opened the second phase of Re-‐envisioning the Virgin Mary: Colonial Paintings from South America. Featuring loans from one of the country’s most distinguished collections of colonial South American art⎯the Marilynn and Carl Thoma Collection of Chicago⎯the exhibition investigates representations of the Virgin that emerged within colonial Latin America during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first iteration of the presentation featured works from both the Thoma Collection and the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection of New York, and showcased Marian imagery created by Europeans and brought from Spain to the New World. Together, the two phases of Re-‐envisioning the Virgin Mary
underscore the vast influence of Spain and the Catholic Church during the period and illustrate the transmission–and also the transformation–of imagery of the Virgin as it traveled from Europe to the Americas, and then throughout the Americas. Created in the modern-‐day countries of Peru and Bolivia, the “sculpture paintings” now on view mark the shift in representations of the Virgin from Europe to the Americas. Created by indigenous artists, the paintings reflect and were inspired by local miracles attributed to sculptures of Mary, which could be found in churches and holy places throughout the region. The works attest to the propagation of images of the Virgin in South America, as well as her rise in popularity during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. Moving beyond Marian iconography imported from Europe, these works reflect the artistic and cultural practices of the region, and reveal their emerging localized traditions of Catholicism. To provide additional context, two original maps from the period–one Dutch and one French–are featured in the exhibition, on special loan from the Benson Latin American Collection, part of the University of Texas Libraries.
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The Blanton’s Latin American Collection The Blanton holds one of the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive collections of Latin American art in the country. Among those represented are Joaquín Torres-‐García, Carlos Cruz–Diez, Anna Bella Geiger, Gego, Luis Camnitzer, and Cildo Meireles. The collection was greatly enriched in 1971 with the donation of 54 paintings from the collection of John and Barbara Duncan. This gift was later expanded to include an additional 41 paintings and 227 works on paper. The Blanton's early leadership in the field of Latin American art and scholarship owes much to the Duncans' visionary gift. With the addition of 120 works from Judy and Charles Tate in 2014, the Latin American collection now comprises more than 2,200 modern and contemporary paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures, reflecting the great diversity of Latin American art and culture. More than 600 artists from Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean are represented. About the Blanton Museum of Art Founded in 1963, the Blanton Museum of Art is one of the foremost university art museums in the country and holds the largest public collection in Central Texas. Recognized for its modern and contemporary American and Latin American art, Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings, and encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings, the Blanton offers thought-‐provoking, visually arresting, and personally moving encounters with art. The museum is located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Congress Avenue and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10–5, Saturday from 11–5, and Sunday from 1–5. Thursdays are free admission days and every third Thursday the museum is open until 9. Admission Prices: Adults $9, Kids 12 and under FREE, Seniors (65+) $7, Youth/College Students (13–21) $5. Admission is free to members, all current UT ID-‐holders. For additional information call (512) 471-‐7324 or visit www.blantonmuseum.org. Image captions: Unidentified artist (Peru, Cuzco) Our Lady of Miracles (Cuzco), 17th or 18th century Oil on copper with gold 9 5/8 x 7 3/4 in. The Marilynn and Carl Thoma Collection
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