Media Contacts
Lynette Nyman, Minneapolis Institute of Art, (612) 870-3173; lnyman@artsmia.org
Tammy Pleshek, Minneapolis Institute of Art, (612) 870-3171; tpleshek@artsmia.org
Anne-Marie Wagener, Minneapolis Institute of Art, (612) 870-3280; awagener@artsmia.org
MIA WILL BE EXCLUSIVE U.S. VENUE FOR INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF NORDIC LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS
“Mirror of Nature” Showcases Masterpieces by Edvard Munch,
Carl Larsson, Harald Sohlberg, and Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Minneapolis, September 15, 2006—The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) will be the exclusive U.S. venue to present a major special exhibition of Nordic landscape paintings organized by the Nordic national galleries. Opening June 24, 2007, at the MIA, “Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840–1910” showcases masterpieces by such leading artists as Edvard Munch, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Carl Larsson, August Strindberg, Harald Sohlberg, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Eero Järnefelt, and Fanny Churberg. Other venues include the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki, the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Desigbn in Oslo, and the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
Featuring 107 paintings, “Mirror of Nature” illuminates the distinctive Nordic contribution to the artistic representation of landscapes in the nineteenth century. This exhibition explores Nordic attitudes to nature and the significance that landscape has had, and continues to have, in Nordic culture and thinking. Landscape painting assumed particular importance around the middle of the nineteenth century, when landscape subjects became crucial symbols in Nordic countries’ search for national identity. At the same time, the landscape art of the region was open to wider European influences, evolving in a field of force between the national and the international.
Works included in the exhibition are grouped thematically under five headings: Nordic Sublime, Close to Nature, In the Open Air, Evocative Landscape, and Landscapes of the Mind. This thematic structure also reflects the chronological development of landscape painting, from the heroic, romantic wildernesses of the 1840s to the dreamy, inward-looking mental landscapes of the turn of the century.
This exhibition is organized by the National Nordic Galleries.
Ticket Information
“Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840–1910” is a special ticketed exhibition. For more information, please call the MIA at (612) 870-3000.
Catalogue
A fully illustrated color catalogue accompanies this exhibition. “Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840-1910” is published by the States Museum for Kunst on behalf of the National Nordic Galleries. The catalogue will be available for purchase at the MIA shop.
Tour Venues
Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki (April 21–August 27, 2006)
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (September 30, 2006–January 14, 2007)
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (February 15–May 20, 2007)
Minneapolis Institute of Art (June 24–September 2, 2007)
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (October 6, 2007–January 20, 2008)
About the Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), home to one of the finest encyclopedic art collections in the country, houses nearly 100,000 works of art representing more than 5,000 years of world history. Highlights of the permanent collection include European masterworks by Rembrandt, Poussin, and van Gogh; modern and contemporary paintings and sculpture by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Stella, and Close; as well as internationally significant collections of decorative arts, Modernist design, photographs, and Asian, African, and Native American art.
General admission is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee. Museum hours: Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Closed Monday. For additional information, call (612) 870-3131 or visit www.artsmia.org.
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