One of the great artistic achievements of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the proliferation of monumental paintings for the walls and ceilings of churches and palaces throughout Europe. These elaborate decorative ensembles were the result of carefully designed programs developed by artists in collaboration with patrons and advisors. These large, often figure-filled compositions were the result of careful processes of visual planning, in which reduced-scale sketches painted in oil played an important role.

Most painted sketches were never intended to be displayed publicly, but rather were made as tools in the creative process. They were used to experiment with ideas for a composition, to propose a composition to a patron, or to record a finished painting for future reference. Preliminary painted sketches could be very rough in appearance, mapping out the artist’s first thoughts about a composition, or more finished exercises that laid out not only elements of the composition, but also served as studies of color and light.

Sebastiano Conca (Italian, 1680–1764), "The Madonna Appearing to St. Philip Neri," 1740, James E. Roberts Fund, 71.6

This lively, loosely painted sketch is a preliminary study for a large altarpiece in the Pilo e Calvello Chapel, Sant’Ignazio Martire all’Olivella (formerly San Filippo Neri), Palermo, commissioned from Conca at the height of his fame in 1739-40. In these years, Conca led a large and busy workshop in Rome and served as the director of the Roman academy. Unwilling to relocate to complete such commissions, Conca would have sent small preliminary sketches like this to his patron in Sicily for approval before undertaking the final full-scale altarpiece. Two additional painted sketches and one drawing related to the altarpiece also survive, with slight variations between them that indicate Conca’s exacting approach to composition.

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Filed under: Art, The Collection

European Design Symposium – With a brand new price of just $100 for the public and $50 for students, this deal is just too good not to recommend. I’m going just to hear Rolf Fehlbaum talk about chairs. Check this blurb of the official blurb…

“Join designers, critics, scholars, manufacturers, dealers and students for a lively examination of the present and future of European decorative and industrial design,”

Anyway, Friday and Saturday, March 6 & 7, don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from European design masters such as Alberto Alessi and Michele De Lucchi. It should rule.

Bacolicio.us – By way of the newest New Media member, Kate, comes this pork modification. While this pharmacist is generally meat-free, bacon on a website is pretty funny.

Sketching with Ketchup – By way of Matt comes this demo that uses meat sandwich accessories and sugar infused tomato squeezings.

European Design Facebook Contest – Week one’s winner has been selected. Up is the new picture!

Filed under: Art, Current Events, Design, Education, New Media, Technology

A Look Back at Works of Art Newly Displayed at the IMA in 2008

If you visited the IMA’s permanent galleries more than once this year, it is likely you did not see the same works of art. Each month the IMA rotates different works of art in an effort to display the breadth of the Museum’s collection. The scheduled rotation is determined through a collaboration between curators and conservators. Curators decide which works are displayed and their display time frame, while the conservators regulate the exposure time of certain sensitive artworks. Below are just a handful of the hundreds of works newly displayed in the IMA’s galleries in 2008:

For a look at all the works that went on view in 2008, visit the IMA’s Dashboard.

In celebration of the IMA’s 125th anniversary, the Museum also sought to acquire 125 new gifts to add to its collection this year. Stay tuned for a complete recap of this project.

Filed under: Art, Current Events