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France
Fan (1715–74)
gouache on paper and ivory, mother-of-pearl, paste, metal
27.0 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Mr and Mrs E. S. Makower, 1927 (2836-D3) 

LOVE: ART OF EMOTION 1400-1800

31/3/2017-18/6/2017
NGV International, FREE
 
A major exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria will celebrate and explore one of humankind’s most complex emotions, love, as seen through the eyes of European artists from 1400 to 1800.

Posted 16 February 2017

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Produced in collaboration with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, Love: Art of Emotion 1400–1800 features more than 200 artworks from the NGV’s permanent collection, spanning painting, sculpture, prints and drawings, costume, furniture and religious artefacts. Traversing the Medieval to the Romantic period, Love: Art of Emotion examines the ever-shifting and multifaceted expressions of a subject of perennial interest to artists and society alike. 

England
(King Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France) (mid 17th century)
silk, linen, paper, metal and silk (thread), mica, pearls, coral, wood, cotton (wadding)
43.3 x 54.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1957 (1733-D4

Jean-Baptise Regnault
French 1754–1829
Venus preparing herself (La Toilette de Vénus) 1815
oil on canvas
247.0 x 205.0 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 2000 (1998.375) 

Jacopo Amigoni
Italian (c. 1685)–1752, worked throughout Europe (c. 1715) –1752
Portrait group: The singer Farinelli and friends (c. 1750–52)
oil on canvas
172.8 x 245.1 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1950 (2226-4)

Joseph Wright of Derby
English 1734–97, lived in Italy 1773–75
The Synnot children 1781
oil on canvas
152.4 x 125.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by Mrs Michael Hawker (née Patricia Synnot), Founder Benefactor, 1980 (E1-1980) 

Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV, commented, ‘Love: Art of Emotion reveals hundreds of powerful depictions of love in art from 1400 to 1800, from Antonio Vivarini’s much-celebrated painting The Garden of Love, c. 1465-1470 to an intricately carved 16th century wedding dowry chest. Drawn from every area of the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection, this exhibition will offer an incredibly rich and diverse display of works, placing the NGV’s holdings in surprising new contexts.’
 
Love: Art of Emotion 1400–1800 traces the cycle of love through three thematic sections: Anticipation, Realisation and Remembrance. In Anticipation, which focuses on the emergence of love with works that depict courtship, flirtation and seduction, viewers will encounter porcelain sculptures of Venus and her son Cupid alongside delicate folding fans, often gifted as love tokens throughout the 1700s, among other artworks. Realisation will examine acts of love: marriage, motherhood, religious ceremonies and charities, through poignant works like Cornelis de Vos’s tender family portrait Mother and Child, 1624, and a 1791 English silk wedding dress.

England
Wedding dress and petticoat 1791
silk, linen, cotton, wool, baleen
(a) 150.0 cm (centre back), 30.0 cm (waist, flat) (wedding dress)
(b) 97.3 cm (centre back), 31.0 cm (waist, flat) (petticoat)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1970 (D71.a-b-1970)

The final section, Remembrance, is devoted to love’s complex relationship to memory, longing and sentiment. A diverse range of works will be revealed including delicate pieces of mourning jewellery, which were intrinsic to the mourning ritual by the mid-1600s, incorporating lockets of loved ones’ hair and images of Romantic symbols of mortality such as urns and weeping willows.  

England
Charles I mourning jewel (mid17th century – late 17th century) (enamels), (19th century) (mount)
gold, crystal, enamel
1.5 x 2.0 x 1.9 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Mrs Stubbs, 1923 (2483-D3)

France / Italy
Brisé fan (1775–1800)
ivory, glass, metal, silk ribbon
25.8 x 38.3 x 2.4 cm (variable) (open)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1931 (3268-D3) 

England
Mourning ring 1769
gold, ruby, ivory, enamel, hair, glass
2.2 x 2.0 x 1.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1974 (D44-1974) 

Master of the Stories of Helen
Italian active (mid 15th century)
Antonio Vivarini (studio of)
The Garden of Love (c. 1465–70)
oil, tempera and gold on spruce panel
152.5 x 239.0 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1948 (1827-4) 

The exhibition considers love in relation to associated emotions such as desire, wonder, ecstasy, affection, compassion, envy, melancholy, longing and hope, as well as the ways in which these combine and intersect.
 
Love: Art of Emotion 1400–1800 will be accompanied by a rich program of events including masterclasses, public programs, musical performances and education programs. For details, visit NGV.MELBOURNE and www.historyofemotions.org.au.

Chelsea Porcelain Factory, London (manufacturer)
England (c. 1744)–1769
Joseph Willems (modeller)
Flanders/England (c. 1715)–1766
Pietà (c. 1761)
porcelain (soft-paste)
38.5 x 28.5 x 22.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the Alcoa Foundation, Governor, 1989 (D2-1989)

Italy, Deruta (manufacturer)
Dish (1520–30)
earthenware (maiolica)
9.2 x 41.6 cm diameter
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1970 (D63-1970)
 

Chelsea Porcelain Factory, London (manufacturer)
England (c. 1744)–1769
Joseph Willems (modeller)
Flanders/England (c. 1715)–1766
François Boucher (after)
The music lesson (c. 1765)
porcelain (soft-paste)
39.5 x 30.3 x 21.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1990 (D12-1990)

The exhibition is supplemented by a lavishly illustrated, 248-page publication featuring essays from exhibition curator Dr Angela Hesson, Dr Lisa Beaven, Professor Anne Dunlop, Dr Matthew Martin, Gary Schwartz, Professor Patricia Simons and Professor James Grantham Turner, and co-edited by Dr Angela Hesson, Dr Matthew Martin and Professor Charles Zika.
 
See the Agenda>

NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA
180 St Kilda Rd
Melbourne VIC 3006, Australia
+61 3 8620 2222
ngv.vic.gov.au

 
England
Mourning pendant 1793
gold, ivory, gouache, hair, crystal, velvet
8.6 x 5.3 x 1.2 cm (pendant), 36.0 x 13.0 x 1.2 cm (overall)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1980 (D362-1980) 

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