Centuries of Art @ Your Library - Nature Leashed & Unleashed November 3, 2008

Animal sculptures of 19th-Century France are the focus of the next Centuries of Art @ Your Library illustrated talk to be presented on Monday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland Street. This program is sponsored by This Century Art Gallery in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and Williamsburg Regional Library. The program is free and reservations are not needed. For more information, contact the library at (757) 259-4070 or This Century Art Gallery at (757) 29-4949.

The Animalier sculptures of 19th-Century France exhibited a vastly different vision concerning the treatment of the natural world. In his lecture, entitled Nature Leashed & Unleashed, Jeffrey W. Allison, VMFA Paul Mellon Collection Educator, explores the ways in which these artists championed the natural world and consequently changed the collection of contemporary art. While many artists focused on tranquil scenes of domestic or sporting animals, other artists were equally fascinated with the savage interaction of wild beasts. Unflinching in their realism, sculptors like Antoine-Louis Barye and Pierre-Jules Mne led the establishment of the Animalier school. Produced in the highest quality, these small-scale bronzes facilitated the acceptance of this medium as a true art form deserving of not only a place in the Salon, but also of a welcome reception among the wider public.

The Centuries of Art @ Your Library series is made possible through This Century Art Gallery's partnership program with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It has been organized by the Office of Statewide Partnerships of the VMFA and is supported by the Paul Mellon Endowment.

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