The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) has two completely different, but equally interesting exhibits running concurrently through April 25. That is when Street Scene ends — a collection of more than 100 mostly black-and-white photographs taken from 1940-1959 by several different photographers looking to capture the gritty nobility of everyman in everyday life with the newly-accessible 35mm film technology.
The Saul Leiter photos are my favorite of the featured six photographers. There are some nice Henri Cartier-Bresson prints and an Alexey Brodovitch entitled Cotillon on loan from the Sir Elton John Photography Collection that are also noteworthy in this beautiful Calatrava Wing exhibit. For full details please click here.
Upstairs in the original museum is the more traditional, The Woman with the Veil, by Raphael, a 16th century contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci. In contrast to the stark Street Scene photos in their basic black frames, this solo painting embodies the graceful nobility that could only be afforded by the wealthy through the richly-colored oil paints of an elite Renaissance painter working in Rome.
The artwork is still housed in an elaborate, antique gold leaf frame that is hinged to allow copyists access to the full painting. There is a nice 12-minute film that explains the mystery of the sitter and the history which brought it to the Medici Family and it’s current home at the Pitti Palace in Florence — from which it is on rare loan. This Raphael is the closest thing to the Mona Lisa that will ever grace MAM’s walls, so I highly recommend seeing it. Please click here to read more about The Woman with the Veil, which runs through June 6.
And for your Tessera Design Tip of the Day… parking in the War Memorial lot north of the building off Lincoln Memorial Drive is only $5. It’s never full and a great place to park for other Downtown and Lakefront events.
Tyra Baumler
Owner, Tessera Design
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