From the Renaissance to Modernism: A Panoramic View of 600 Years of Western Art History

100 Years of the San Diego Museum of Art
Special Exhibition Opens Tomorrow at Sejong Museum of Art
Masterpieces by 60 Great Artists on Display

A special exhibition offering a panoramic view of 600 years of Western art history, from the Renaissance and Impressionism to pre-World War II Modernism, will be held through masterpieces by the great masters who defined these eras. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year since opening in 1925, the San Diego Museum of Art will host "From the Renaissance to Impressionism: Special Exhibition of the San Diego Museum of Art" at the Sejong Museum of Art in the Sejong Center, starting on November 5.

Bernardino Luini's Conversion of Mary Magdalene (circa 1520). Provided by Gaudium Associates

This exhibition will feature works by renowned artists representing key movements in Western art, from the Renaissance to the Baroque and Rococo periods. Highlights include pieces by Bernardino Luini, Paolo Veronese, Hieronymus Bosch, Jacopo Tintoretto, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Francisco de Zurbaran, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Anthony van Dyck, Francesco Guardi, Bernardo Bellotto, and Simon Vouet.

In addition, the exhibition will showcase works by leading figures in modern art from the 19th century onwards, including Francisco Goya, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Suzanne Valadon, Marie Laurencin, Raoul Dufy, and Amedeo Modigliani.

In total, the exhibition will present 65 works by 60 artists who left a significant mark on Western art history, including 63 oil paintings and 2 sculptures. This offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience masterpieces usually seen only in textbooks. The total value of the works on display exceeds 2 trillion won, making it a large-scale exhibition. Notably, 25 major pieces from the San Diego Museum of Art's permanent collection-which have never been loaned overseas in the museum's 100-year history-will be unveiled in Seoul for the first time. Roxana Velasquez, CEO and Executive Director of the San Diego Museum of Art, emphasized, "This is the first time in our 100-year history that such a significant portion of our permanent collection has been exhibited abroad, and Korea is the first to host it. This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that may never come again." She added, "This is more than just an opportunity to appreciate masterpieces; it is an exhibition that demonstrates how the great masters of Western art influenced one another, leading up to contemporary art."

This exhibition is not limited to a single period or movement, but is designed to provide an overview of 600 years of Western art history, spanning the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Classicism, Realism, Impressionism, and Modernism before and after World War II. The exhibition is curated by Anita Feldman, Deputy Director of the San Diego Museum of Art, with Dr. Michael Brown, an expert in 17th- and 18th-century Spanish art, serving as curator to enhance its academic depth. Unlike the San Diego Museum of Art's centennial touring exhibitions previously held at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo and the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, the Seoul exhibition will feature a large number of works by masters from the Impressionist period and beyond. Twenty-eight previously unreleased works that were not shown at the two Japanese venues will be on display in Seoul, making this event even more meaningful for Korean art enthusiasts. The exhibition will run until February 22 of next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.