Masters of Venice from Vienna to San Francisco

By Emma KrasovThe Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco hosts a worldwide exclusive exhibition, “Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna” at the de Young now.
From mythical subjects to exquisite portraiture, the show presents an array of luminous oil paintings, meticulously exploring the interplay of light and shadows, fabrics and textures, jewels and golden tresses of the admired and idealized Venetian beauties.
Be it Titian’s Danae raising her green eyes to the divine shower of gold descending upon her virgin thighs, or Tintoretto’s Susanna scrambling for her gossamer undergarments to escape the prying eyes of the elders – the sensuous beauty of the paintings far exceeds its moral content, allegedly commissioned by the aristocratic husbands to remind their wives of their spousal obligations.
There are 50 paintings on loan from the Gemäldegalerie, commissioned by the various Venetian nobles; created by the Renaissance icons, like Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Giorgione, and collected by the Habsburgs of Austria.
Speaking at the opening, Diane B. Wilsey, FAMSF Board President, John E. Buchanan, Jr., Director of Museums, and Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, Director of the Gemäldegalerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, emphasized the importance of the Venetians, and their high technical skill, unparalleled in the history of art.
“Masters of Venice” runs through February 12, 2012 at the de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. For tickets and information call 425-750-3600 or visit: www.fams.org. Image: Tintoretto, Susanna and the Elders (ca. 1555-1556)courtesy of FAMSF and Gemaldegalerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.