The Lowe Art Museum will unveil more than 125 rare portrait drawings and oil sketches in an exhibition titled CONTEMPLATING CHARACTER: Portrait Drawings and Oil Sketches from Jacque-Louis David to Lucian Freud. The exhibition will be on view from October 23, 2015 through January 17, 2016, and promises to delight viewers, especially those interested in the evolution of portraiture from the late 1700s to the present.
Among the highlights of this exhibition are a late 18th-century work by Jacques-Louis David, four works by Lucian Freud, and Aubrey Beardsley’s decadent India ink portrait of Oscar Wilde. CONTEMPLATING CHARACTER also boasts a fine range of self-portraits, including Adolph Menzel’s right hand drawn by his left hand, and Maximilien Luce’s self-portrait as his hand against the prison wall during his 1894 incarceration on suspicion of anarchy. Included as well is Alfred Hitchcock’s famous profile seen by millions in the introduction to his television series, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
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CONTEMPLATING CHARACTER showcases works that reflect the new artistic movements of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Realism. The portraits created during this period were marked by a more honest and gritty incisiveness as compared to earlier portraiture that aimed to flatter the rich and powerful. And, in the 20th century, individuality and the personality of the sitter characterized portraiture as a whole, as evidenced by the four exquisite works by Lucian Freud.
A number of special programs are scheduled around the COMTEMPLATING CHARACTER exhibition, including a Gallery Talk with collector and curator Robert Flynn Johnson, A Journey Not a Destination: Adventures over Four Decades in the Pursuit of Portraiture (the Lowe, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.); a Lecture with Robert Flynn Johnson, The Portrait Transformed: The Triumph of Creativity of Vision over Replication of Likeness (the Lowe, October 23, 10 a.m.); a Gallery Talk on portraiture with Dr. Eric Zafran (the Lowe, November 19, 7 p.m.); First Friday! Portrait Sip & Sketch (wine and a chance to sketch the works on view at the Lowe, December 4, 7-10 p.m.); and Family Day—All About Me! (family activities at the Lowe, December 13, 12-3 p.m.).
CONTEMPLATING CHARACTER is organized by Robert Flynn Johnson, San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts Curator Emeritus, with Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA, in association with Denenberg Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA. The exhibition is open to the public.
General admission is $10.
Lowe Art Museum exhibitions and programs are sponsored by Beaux Arts and the general membership. Additional support is provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
October 13, 2015
