Filled with a rich corpus of rare materials, "Variety, Archeology and Ornament: Renaissance Architectural Prints from Column to Cornice," a special exhibition which opened last month at the University Art Museum, offers the viewer an opportunity to step into the world of Renaissance architecture.
The show has brought together more than 60 original works by 16th-century architects, artists and printmakers. Some are famous, like the treatises of Italian Renaissance architects Andrea Palladio and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola; others, such as the single-leaf engravings published in Rome in the mid-1530s by the unknown but affectionately named "Master G.A. with the Caltrop," are familiar only to art historian specialists. Much of the works are well-preserved but fragile, and all of them are full of detail.
The unconventional juxtaposition of freehand sketches, measured survey drawings, engravings and printed books composes an illuminating story of the gradual shift during the Renaissance from manuscripts to printed architectural materials. The result is an original, accessible and inviting show which is capable of inspiring anyone, particularly those with an interest in architecture, drawing, rare books and Italian art and culture.
Co-curated by Michael Waters, a doctorate candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and a graduate of the Masters in Architectural History program at the University, and Cammy Brothers, associate professor of architectural history, this exhibition constitutes a major achievement of their ongoing scholarly energy and passionate investigation. The show is the result of several years of collaborative research, and it reveals the curators' remarkable ability to draw connections between text and image.
Brothers, for example, remarked on some of the surprising discoveries regarding the G.A. prints, especially "about the wide dissemination these prints had, and that they have been so overlooked, but seemed to have been pretty widely copied and had spread to the far reaches of Europe." She continued, "[Waters] suggested that they seemed to have had much more of an afterlife and impact than we typically have thought."
The opening reception for "Variety, Archeology and Ornament" was held Aug. 26 as part of the Final Friday Series at the Art Museum. It was followed the next day with a gallery tour led by Waters. Both were well-attended and filled with students, faculty, architecture and art aficionados, as well as other guests from the University and Charlottesville community. It deserved the audience; to wander through this show is like catching a glimpse into the windows of the Palazzo Farnese, a famous Renaissance palace in Rome: it forces you to stop and reconsider the meaning of beauty in architecture, whether imagined or built.
The most rewarding aspect of the show is the direct interaction with primary source material. It allows for closer observation and comparative study within the well-suited environment of the University Art Museum. The installation of the display is organized and informative, though it is much in need of a gallery guide or exhibition catalogue, especially to highlight the vast number of works the curators studied but could not incorporate into the show.
As a whole, the show is successful in presenting a new way of seeing and thinking about the dynamic use of drawings and prints in the Renaissance, and a visit to the exhibition is well worth the time. Not every day can one encounter such rare, highly visual materials which are otherwise inaccessible to people other than scholars. Indeed, the exhibition is contributing to the academic discourse on Grounds, both within the art museum space and beyond. "I was most pleased to hear from colleagues ... that plan to use the exhibition in their classes, and bring their students over to the Art Museum," Brothers said. "It was very gratifying that the exhibition could be used in such diverse ways, from courses on modern architecture to Jefferson."
The exhibition is on view now through Dec. 18 at the museum. The museum will be hosting several upcoming events in conjunction with this exhibition: a Symposium Sept. 30 and Oct. 1; a Saturday Special Tour led by Art Museum Director Bruce Boucher Oct. 22; and a lunchtime talk with Brothers Dec. 6. For more details, visit the website.
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