Studying the Art Object: Materials and Methods brings together a diverse but select group of paintings and sculpture from the Kemper Art Museum’s permanent collection that pose a variety of questions relating to the methods and materials integral to art.This Teaching Gallery exhibition explores topics such as artistic technique, condition, provenance, and exhibition history in order to uncover some of the challenges that the material nature of an object presents for art historical interpretation. Comprised of objects as varied as a painting by El Greco from the early seventeenth century, a portrait by Franz Seraph von Lenbach from the late 19th century, a plaster portrait bust by Sir Jacob Epstein from the mid-twentieth century, and an Oceanic statue known as Homme Oiseau from the early 20th century, the exhibition offers an opportunity for close study of a wide range of art through a unique lens.
This Teaching Gallery exhibition is organized by Mark Weil, E. Desmond Lee Professor Emeritus, in conjunction with the course “Looking at Art: Exercises in Learning to Know,” offered by Washington University’s Department of Art History & Archaeology in fall 2010.
