19th-Century European and American Gallery Includes Works by Corot, Monet, Renoir, and Sargent

A New 19th Century:

The Mondavi Family Gallery Reinstalled

Opens November 8, 2006, then ongoing

Stanford, California — The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University announces "A New 19th Century: The Mondavi Family Gallery Reinstalled," opening November 8, 2006. Recent acquisitions and important loans, including works by Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894), Maximilien Luce (French, 1858–1941), Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919), and John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925), prompted the new presentation of art from the Cantor Arts Center's collections.

In contrast to the convention that sees the period as a succession of "isms" beginning with Romanticism and ending with Symbolism, the Center's curators offer an alternative view that emphasizes continuities within an era of extraordinary social, political, and artistic flux. "A New 19th Century" presents works according to genre: portraiture, narrative art, still life, and landscape. This arrangement enables visitors to consider how artists used each genre to manipulate traditions and introduce new styles in accordance with their personal visions.

"European and American art is intermingled in the gallery," explained Chief Curator Bernard Barryte. "This more accurately conveys the aesthetics of the period in which American artists looked to Europe for prototypes and, when possible, studied in established artistic centers where they mastered carving, casting, and painting techniques while absorbing elements of the traditions they admired."

There are also two new components to the installation. One section of the 3330-square-foot gallery is devoted to prints, drawings, and photographs, which enables curators to use the collection in a more coherent and programmatic manner. Curators can create thematic installations that respond to the needs and ideas of students, professors, visiting scholars, and others. The second component is a “collector’s cabinet.” This presentation, alluding to the manner in which the majority of 19th-century works were originally displayed, provides a space to show many small paintings previously consigned to storage.

Barryte, who is responsible for European art to 1900 at the Cantor Arts Center, worked in conjunction with Betsy G. Fryberger, the Burton and DeeDee McMurtry Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Claire Perry, curator of American art, to present “A New 19th Century,” which includes a 150 works.

Works remaining on view by important artists include Upper Kern Valley by William Keith (Scottish-born, American, ca.1838–1911), Still Life with Fruit by Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836–1904), bronzes by Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917), and paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796–1875). Salviati Venetian glassware is also retained in the new installation.

The exhibition is made possible by generous support from the Robert Mondavi Family Fund and an anonymous donor.