Gettin' Artsy with the Portland Hessians
Is it inappropriate to call the Portland Art Museum the “little museum that could?” In the past year, they’ve scored a number of high-profile exhibitions, including Diane Arbus and Lucian Freud. Their newest effort, Hesse: A Princely German Collection, continues the trend -- high-falutin’ art in a city best known for its indie rock scene. Over the years, the lovable Hessian royal family built up an extensive collection of art: German Renaissance masterworks, baroque furniture, German Romantic paintings and royal crowns, thrones, tiaras, and portraits galore. And, hey, as the AP lovingly puts it in their breathless item-by-item summary, there are renaissance sobriety-inducing gizmos too:
Diamond tiaras once worn by princesses. Gilded drinking cups from the 1500s. Tiered table fountains from the 1600s that once poured wine from one level into water from another -- possibly to keep the lid on drunkenness during court parties. Furniture. Candleabras. Jewelry.The Portland Museum is the collection’s only appearance in America. Come March, it’s back to Deutschland for the Holbein Madonna.
Hesse: A Princely German Collection [Portland Art Museum]
Previously: Modified + Motokitty Opening, Roundup Roundup #5, Hotel Lucia, Seattle Got the Hook-up, Top Dyke Metropoli
