There’s only a few days left to see master paintings on exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art from the collection of the Philippe II, The Duke of Orléans - namesake of the city of New Orleans.
The Orléans Collection has brought together - for the first time - 38 masterpieces from 25 lending institutions, including the National Gallery of London, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the National Gallery of Scotland. Together they tell the story of the collection’s formation, its reputation, and its impact in early 18th century Paris.
The exhibit was assembled to mark the city’s Tricentennial celebration.
The Duke of Orléans loved art - so much so, that his collection was considered more impressive than the paintings compiled by King Louis XIV, who died 1n 1715. The Duke had grown up in that splendor and studied art – even getting paintings as gifts instead of the usual silver and gold pieces usually received by royalty.
The new king was only 5 years old when Louis died, so the Duke filled in as regent.
"A unique strength of our subject is the quality and breadth of Philippe II's collection itself, which will offer visitors an overview of European art, from Venice and Rome to the Netherlands and France," said Vanessa Schmid, NOMA’s Senior Research Curator for European Art.
Philippe II's eight-year regency represented an important shift of French social and cultural life from Versailles back to Paris around the newly flourishing neighborhood on the Right Bank of the Duke's Palais Royal, near the present-day Louvre Museum.
The NOMA exhibit culminates with Rembrandt's The Mill, on loan from the National Gallery Art in Washington, D.C.
The Orléans Collection at NOMA closes Sunday.WWNO's Eileen Fleming gets a tour of exhibit highlights with curator Vanessa Schmid.
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