Le goût de la Renaissance: un dialogue entre collections

Abstract

An extension of the exhibition presented at the Hôtel de la Marine, the work pays tribute to the exceptional inventiveness, talent and know-how demonstrated by Renaissance art; it is also interested in the fascination that this art has continued to exert on collectors for centuries. Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Al Thani Collection are combined to display more than 130 works and objects of decorative art - sculptures, pieces of goldwork, jewelry, ceramics, glass, textiles, books, manuscripts, paintings, graphic works, and curiosities. There are works by Antico, Lucas Cranach the Younger, François Clouet, Carlo Crivelli, Donatello, Nicholas Hilliard, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Leonardo da Vinci, as well as art objects commissioned from the most accomplished artists of the time by patrons from royal families or the high aristocracy. Opening with the history of the two institutions here in conversation - one born in the 19th century, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the other at the start of the 21st century, the Al Thani Collection - the book is divided into ten thematic chapters, each giving rise to the analysis of remarkable pieces. It presents an unprecedented body of works, some of which have never been revealed to the public. This is the case for around fifty works from the Al Thani Collection shown for the first time. -- Publisher's website