Rienzi is the house museum and collection of European paintings and decorative arts at the MFAH. Our articles highlight elements of the collection, discuss additions and changes to the house or gardens, and review events held at Rienzi for those of you not able to be here in person. Feel free to e-mail rienziblog@mfah.org with questions, comments, and suggestions. Welcome!
Posts Tagged Collection, page 1
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16 OctTue / 2012
The volume of paintings produced by George Romney in the mid-1770s through the mid-1790s, for the most prestigious members of society, surpassed any other painter at the time. Although he was a competitor of artists like Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, Romney charged significantly less for a portrait sitting than his Royal Academy counterparts. Also, by making himself accessible to an emerging moneyed class and avoiding lofty political associations, Romney catered...
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08 OctMon / 2012
George Romney rose from provincial obscurity to become one of the most fashionable portrait painters in 18th-century London. The story of his remarkable rise to fame is a tale that illuminates the debates, concerns, and hopes of artists during a period of momentous change in the British art world. This Sunday, Rienzi opens its fall exhibition, "Visions of Fancy" . . .
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13 AugMon / 2012
The restoration of 'La Fée aux fleurs' was a six-month process. "I had never seen the sculpture 'Tinker Bell,' but its existence had acquired an almost mythical quality. It was obviously of some significance, possibly French 19th-century. Ingrid and I thought that if we removed all the rust and old paint that obscured the intricate details, and invested a lot of time, the cast-iron sculpture might look impressive again.
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13 AugMon / 2012
It’s a rare treat to find something you already own and enjoy it like new. A gift of that sort recently came to the museum, when a discovery made in a storage room resulted in a magnificent addition to Rienzi’s sculpture collection. A cast-iron sculpture of a winged fairy and cherub shows the pair delicately perched on a circular mount, holding a tendril of flowers between them.
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20 JulFri / 2012
In the galleries of the Treasures of Kenwood House exhibition, where carefully poised ladies and gallantly aloof gentlemen are an expression of 18th-century sophistication, one painting stands apart: Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight by Joseph Wright of Derby. Extraordinary in both . . .
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