Denver Art Museum Showcases 19th Century In European Art
DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Art Museum will place 85 artworks in new galleries beginning Sunday as part of The 19th Century in European Art on display for visitors to see in its permanent collection. The paintings capture the move artists made from antiquity to abstract in that time period.
"It's hard to think of other centuries where there have been so many changes, so many great transition such as in the 19th century," said Angelica Daneo, the chief curator and curator of European Art before 1900 at the Denver Art Museum. "The artists that broke with tradition, broke with principals of the academy and created really a new art, a new movement pushing the boundaries."
Well-known artists like Monet, Renoir, and Cézanne will be on view as one gallery is dedicated to the French impressionist movement. The new layout will also include American artists and help to demonstrate how similar subject matters were explored differently on either side of the Atlantic. Paris became the art capital of the Western World in the 19th Century, according to Daneo, so Americans and others would travel to France to study.
"This particular galleries of the 19th century, which is tied to our European American art collection," she said. "We felt it was important to focus on the 19th Century as it's a century that really bridges the art of the past and 20th Century."
Including eight examples of Monet's work, she says the new displays will put French impressionism in context for museum visitors. Some of the favorites within the permanent collection will return to public view as well.
"If you ever desire to introduce French Impressionism to your children or to your family, this is a great opportunity to do so," Daneo said.
Visitors 18 and under can enter the museum for free so it provides young students and loved ones the chance to see their first work of famous artists in person if they have never seen this style of painting up close. The new galleries are part of the museum's permanent installation.
"We want people to feel safe when they come to the museum and be able to experience this art," she explained. "We have established timed tickets so that people can expect to have not so many crowds in the gallery and be able to enjoy these paintings in safety."
Entry at a set time along with galleries based on themes will let guests create their own experience to see these artworks like never before in Denver.
"I think that visitors will appreciate being able to add a piece of the puzzle to the narrative of the 19th Century," she said.
