Sunday, March 1, 2015

Byzantine Art exhibit

Icon of Christ Pantokrator late 14th century
We visited an historic exhibit of Byzantine Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. I was told by an art historian friend not to miss this because the entire collection is from Greece and most likely will not ever be exhibited together again.
And I usually take my sketchbook with me and balance it on one hand while furiously sketching out my impressions with the other as it makes me really look long and deeply.

Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections presents 63 superb artworks from the early Christian and Byzantine eras. Originally exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the exhibition represents major artistic holdings from Greece—many of which have never been exhibited outside that country—consisting of shimmering mosaics, architectural fragments, manuscripts, luxury glass, silver, personal adornments, liturgical textiles, and painted icons.