Masterpieces Replayed exhibit

To my delight I was able to experience (thanks, Louise) the enlightening presentation of significant pieces of European art in the context of their evolution. The Phoenix Art Museum is hosting an exhibit of pieces by Cezanne, Matisse, and Monet, among other artist, which are presented along side elements that were used in the refinement of the final works of art. Some of these elements are photographs that were taken of the pieces while the work was in progress - amazing to see the artist's mind at work creating their style.

Best of all, I was able to share my joy of this exploration with my mother and my sister who invited me along for the event!

This was a very inspiring exhibition for me in that it revealed how different artists developed ways to enhance the creative process and that great pieces of art did not just happen - they evolved with time, curiosity, experimentation and focus.

"Masterpiece Replayed
through May 4, 2008
This extraordinary exhibition explores how and why 19th century French painters repeated themselves in their paintings - often painting the same scene over and over - for deliberate and defined purposes. In fact, much of the history of European painting is of artists meaningfully repeating themselves, returning to a theme, or even duplicating their own designs.

This exhibition examines - in approximately 60 of the most famous paintings, watercolors, sculptures and etchings by such artists as David, Delacroix, Gérôme, Corot, Millet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Matisse and others - how French painters in the 19th and early 20th centuries used repetition and what repetition came to mean for them as individual artists. The 13 case-studies in the exhibition provide an unprecedented opportunity to compare different versions of masterpieces and to instigate a conversation about originality and mastery.

This exhibition will be on view at only two locations in the country, Phoenix Art Museum and Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which organized the exhibition." http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/exhibitionmasterpiece.aspx