A reinstallation of the Worcester Art Museum's paintings from the 16th-18th centuries provides a new look at Old Masters.
In celebration of the recent gift of Paolo Veronese’s Venus Disarming Cupid, the Museum is reinstalling a suite of old master galleries featuring Renaissance and Baroque masterworks. Paintings will be displayed in medallion-style hangings—reminiscent of the 17th-18th century—that encourage the viewer to make personal connections with and between the works. This project is one of many where the Museum is focused on reshaping the visitor experience.
The [remastered] galleries will remain on view permanently.
Gallery as Concept
The Museum is working on alternative design approaches that encourage new ways for visitors to interact with and participate in daily uses of the gallery as: a classroom, inviting formal (collegiate) and informal (drop-in visitor) learning; as a laboratory, with interpretative and interactive iPod applications; as a sanctuary, reintroducing spirituality practices with interfaith clergy; and as a community space, activating the galleries as a welcoming place for family audiences. The goal is to balance opportunities for quiet contemplation—the “traditional” museum experience—with new interactive and experimental programs.
Two interactive iPads will focus exclusively on two works of art every two months, inviting visitors to add their own labels and to see what others have written. These visitor labels will be added to the growing online gallery of information and feedback. Come back to visit every two months to see the two new highlighted works, and add your voice.
In the News
[remastered] is “. . . an intelligent attempt to rethink WAM’s
16th-18th-century holdings - to display them to their best effect,
certainly, but also, with a bit of theater, to slow us down, to
suggest alternative insights, and to stimulate new pleasures.”
- Sebastian Smee, Boston Globe
"[remastered]" ... encourages museum-goers to linger in the galleries,
looking for commonalities among the paintings in each assemblage.
"I wanted it to be visceral, spiritual, inspiring," Mr. Waschek said.
- Judith H. Dobrzynski The Wall Street Journal
Video: Reimagining Art in Worcester
Worcester Art Museum Director, Matthias Waschek, shares his vision
for broadening the museum's audience with WGBH's Jared Bowen and
discusses the Museum's current exhibition [remastered], dedicated
to rethinking the presentation of the museum's 16th to 18th century holdings.
Boston Globe - Bernardo Strozzi
Artsjournal.com
Blouin ARTINFO
Boston Globe - Veronese
Boston Globe - [remastered]
Boston Globe - [remastered]
Boston Globe - [remastered] - 2013 visual art picks
Mass Live
MetroWest Daily News
NYTimes
Telegram - [remastered] Preview
Telegram - Veronese
The Wall Street Journal
WGBH Open Studio
Worcester Magazine
Worcester Magazine - Photo Gallery / Opening Party
Contact
Welcome to the Worcester Art Museum’s [remastered] Press Page,
a resource for media professionals. Here you will find information on how
to contact WAM for press needs, including press materials and images.
For more information, to request press images, or to be
added to WAM's press list, contact:
Megan Ardery
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
mardery@resnicowschroeder.com
Please note: Advance notice is required for in-gallery photography.
Use of flash is prohibited on certain artwork and artifacts.
Related Programs
Opening Party
Click here to see photos from the [remastered] openingSponsored by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Alloy Orchestra: Compositions for Veronese and Caravaggio
Video: Alloy Orchestra Interprets Venus Disarming Cupid
Video: Alloy Orchestra Interprets Vision of St. Jerome
As expressed by Sebastian Smee of the Boston Globe, the [remastered] exhibition is “...an intelligent attempt to rethink WAM’s 16th-18th century holdings-to display them to their best effect, certainly, but also, with a bit of theater, to slow us down, to suggest alternative insights, and to stimulate new pleasures.” The reinstallation of the Worcester Art Museum’s paintings from the 16th-18th centuries, evokes creative visitor responses, and encourages imaginative responses to dramatic images.
The exploration of engaging audiences in new ways is supported by the Museum’s use of interpretive iPad applications. These applications provide the public a way to contribute their own responses, or “alternative labels” to art. The Museum also invites community members from a variety of disciplines and perspectives to create labels that offer not only different, but unconventional perspectives. One such unconventional perspective is that of the Cambridge-based musical group, Alloy Orchestra.
Alloy Orchestra is a three man musical ensemble, writing and performing live accompaniment to classic silent films. Working with an outrageous assemblage of peculiar objects, they thrash and grind soulful music from unlikely sources. As part of special programming, Alloy Orchestra collaborated with the Worcester Art Museum in December to create two musical labels for artworks in the [remastered] exhibition. The original score produced from this project highlights The Vision of St. Jerome and Veronese’s Venus Disarming Cupid and was performed and recorded live at the museum.
Learn more about Alloy Orchestra
[remastered] Mini-Library
In May, the Museum hosted a conference that explored the future of libraries in the 21st century (learn more). While there is a wealth of information housed in WAM's Library, we are experimenting by bringing the resources of the Library into the [remastered] galleries with a selection of books that highlight art, literature and religion of the period for adults and children. Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Community
WSU young docents connect to the [remastered] exhibition
Engaging a younger audience is part of the foundation of the Museum’s community pledge. Our successful collaboration with Worcester State University and the Interdisciplinary Major in Visual and Performing Arts program offers us the chance to deeply ingrain our docent program with eager new voices, and nowhere is that more evident than within the [remastered] galleries.
By interning at the Museum through the docent program, many students have a courtside view of the new exhibit – and the reaction of our patrons to this exciting new visual display.
Sandy Wade ’14, of Whitinsville, who is majoring in Visual and Performing Arts with a concentration in art, says that after she was informed of the concept behind the fresh design, she was eager to engage with the art in a new way, and to help visitors do the same.
“Some came up to me afterwards and said that they really were able to connect to the paintings in a unique way and felt the experience added a more creative element to their viewing,” she recalls. “I felt proud to be a part of something so beautiful and moving.”
Wade comments that she felt the lack of labeling enhanced the energy in the room. “It’s warmer, more inviting," she says. "The freedom to experience these paintings so up-close, is quite extraordinary.”
Nicole Huss-Howland ’16 says it was an honor to be a part of something so revolutionary. “The whole experience has made me develop a personal relationship with each work in the gallery, and that is an amazing thing to have.”
Visual and Performing Arts Major Huss-Howland, ’16, says the books, iPads, and gallery guides increased the interactive elements of the newly revised exhibit hall in positive ways.
“People seem to relax, grab a book and immerse themselves in the artwork,” says Huss-Howland.
“This is a comfortable space where one can relax enough to really take note of the intense gazes and gestures that make these paintings so dramatic — to be able to really get lost in them.”
Kristine MacBrian ’15, also a Visual and Performing Arts Major with a concentration in Art, is participating in the docent internship as a way to learn about the inner workings of an art institution. According to MacBrian, what she learned within [remastered] is that visitors have consistently responded positively to the new look and presentation.
“I attended a nude life drawing class on a recent Thursday and there was a diverse group of people looking to learn and practice their own skills; now that the space accommodates for all of these new interactive activities, the patrons seem to respond positively,” MacBrian says.
For the Museum, the young docents, and the patrons, the internship program has offered a renewed way to not only showcase the collection, but guide the visitors through their journey of art.
Images shown on this page:
Column 1
THE INTERIOR OF A TAILOR SHOP, 1653, Quiringh Gerritsz van Brekelenkam, Dutch, about 1620-1668, Oil on panel, Museum purchase, 1910.7
THE MERRYMAKERS, about 1650, Hendrick Sorgh, Dutch, 1610/11-1670, Oil on panel, Museum purchase, 1913.45
LANDSCAPE WITH TREES AND A HOUSE, 1642, Salomon van Ruysdael, Dutch, about 1600/03-1670, Oil on panel, Museum purchase, 1920.3
CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS, 1635-1637, Alonso Cano, Spanish, 1601-1667, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1920.95
THE REPENTANT MAGDALEN, about 1577, El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), Spanish, 1541-1614, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1922.5
A PARTY ON A TERRACE, 1652, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dutch, 1621-1674, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1922.208
HE ASTRONOMER, 1638, Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish, 1591-1652, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1925.116
WOMAN WITH A CHILD AND A MAID IN AN INTERIOR, Pieter de Hooch, Dutch, 1629-1684, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1925.117
SAINT ROSA OF VITERBO, about 1650, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo, Spanish, 1617-1682, Oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Edward Davis Thayer, 1936.44
VIEW OF THE IJ ON A STORMY DAY, about 1660, Jacob van Ruisdael, Dutch, about 1628/9-1682, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, Theodore T. and Mary G. Ellis Collection, 1940.52
THE CALLING OF SAINT MATTHEW, about 1620, Bernardo Strozzi, Italian, 1581-1644, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1941.1
INTERIOR OF THE CHOIR AT SAINT BAVO'S CHURCH AT HAARLEM, 1660, Pieter Saenredam, Dutch, 1597-1665, Oil on panel, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1951.29
WINTER LANDSCAPE WITH SKATERS NEAR A CASTLE, 1615, Adriaen van de Venne, Dutch, 1589-1662, Oil on panel, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1951.30
BANQUET STILL LIFE, 1655, Abraham van Beyeren, Dutch, 1620/21-1690, Oil on panel, Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Francis T.C. Paine, 1953.1
MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS, early 1640s, Sebastien Bourdon, French, 1616-1671, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1953.79
THE RHETORICIANS, about 1655, Jan Steen, Dutch, 1625/6-1679, Oil on panel, Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Francis T.C. Paine, 1954.22
PORTRAIT OF A MAN, 1617, Cornelis van der Voort, Dutch, about 1576-1624, Oil on panel, Alexander and Caroline Murdock DeWitt Fund, 1956.16
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, 1617, Cornelis van der Voort, Dutch, about 1576-1624, Oil on panel, Alexander and Caroline Murdock DeWitt Fund, 1956.17
FLOWERS IN A VASE, Attributed to Jacob van Walscapelle, Dutch, 1644-1727, Oil on panel, Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Francis T.C. Paine, 1956.18
Column 2
THE VISION OF SAINT JEROME, Follower of Caravaggio, First half of the 17th century, possibly Italian, Oil on canvas, Austin S. Garver Fund, 1960.1
THE BETRAYAL OF CHRIST, early 17th century, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Italian, 1574-1625, Oil on canvas, Anonymous loan
LANDSCAPE WITH TWO HORSECARTS, 1652, Jan van Goyen, Dutch, 1596-1656, Oil on paper, Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Francis T.C. Paine, Formerly in the collection of Fritz and Louise Gutmann, 1956.84
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, about 1633, Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch, 1606-1669, Oil on panel, Charlotte E. W. Buffington Fund, 1958.35
A STILL LIFE ON A TABLE, about 1644, Gerrit Heda, Dutch, active 1642-1667, Oil on panel, Gift of Mrs. Aldus Chapin Higgins in memory of Aldus Chapin Higgins, 1959.49
GALATEA, WITH ACIS AS A RIVER GOD, 1675-1677, Luca Giordano, Italian, 1634-15, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1961.32
AN HISTORIC SCENE, Ferdinand Bol, Dutch, 1616-1680, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E. W. Buffington Fund, 1961.39
A YOUNG COUPLE AND A BOY IN A GARDEN, about 1650, Michael Sweerts, Netherlandish, 1624-1664, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1961.40
A VILLAGE SCENE IN WINTER WITH A FROZEN RIVER, late 1640s, Aert van der Neer, Dutch, 1603/4-1677, Oil on panel, Sarah C. Garver Fund, 1962.26
HEAD OF A GIRL, about 1615-1620, Jacob Jordaens, Flemish, 1593-1678, Oil on wood panel, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1963.96
SMILING YOUNG MAN SQUEEZING GRAPES, 1622, Gerrit van Honthorst, Dutch, 1590-1656, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1968.15
A GARLAND OF FLOWERS WITH THE EDUCATION OF THE VIRGIN, about 1645, Daniel Seghers, 1590-1661, and Erasmus Quellinus II, 1607-1678, Flemish, 17th century, Oil on canvas, Eliza S. Paine Fund, 1966.37
THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, early 1650s, Luca Giordano, Italian, 1634-1705, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1969.1
FROZEN MOAT OUTSIDE CITY WALLS, about 1647, Jan Asselijn, Dutch, 1610-1652, Oil on canvas, Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Francis T.C. Paine, 1969.24
FEAST OF SILENUS, Sebastiano Ricci, Italian, 1659-1734, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1970.65
SAINT CATHERINE, early 17th century, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Italian, 1574-1625, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1971.113
THE VISION OF SAINT IGNATIUS AT LA STORTA , 1684-1685, Giovanni Batista Gaulli (Baciccio), Italian, 1639-1709, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1974.298
CARD PLAYERS AND MERRYMAKERS, about 1640, Jacob Duck, Dutch, 1600-1660, Oil on panel, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1974.337
A WOMAN PULLING A DOG'S EAR, 1662, Frans van Mieris, Dutch, 1635-1681, Oil on panel, Bequest from an estate, 2003.50
THE BAKER, about 1681, Job Adriaensz. Berckheyde, Dutch, 1630-1693, Oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Milton P. Higgins, 1975.105
Column 3
VENUS DISARMING CUPID, about 1555, Paolo Veronese, Italian, 1528-1588, Oil on canvas, Gift of Hester Diamond, 2013.50
THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT, 1627-1628, Nicolas Poussin, French, 1594-1665, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1977.111
MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS ROCH, SEBASTIAN AND FRANCIS XAVIER, about 1730, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Italian, about 1680-about 1750, Oil on canvas, Sarah C. Garver Fund, 1977.129
MODELLO FOR THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN (CAPUA CATHEDRAL), about 1725, Francesco Solimena, Italian, Neapolitan, 1657-1747, Oil on canvas, Charlotte E.W. Buffington Fund, 1978.97
LABAN SEARCHING FOR HIS IDOLS, 1630, Willem van Nieuwlandt the Younger, Dutch, 1584-1635?, Oil on panel, Charlotte E. W. Buffington Fund, 1980.7
ITALIAN LANDSCAPE WITH RUINS, Pieter van der Hulst I, Flemish, before 1575-1628?, Oil on panel, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1983.38
A GAME OF TRIC-TRAC, about 1631, Judith Leyster, Dutch, 1609-1660, Oil on panel, Gift of Robert and Mary S. Cushman, 1983.58
PARIS AND OENONE, 1619, Pieter Lastman, Dutch, 1583-1633, Oil on panel, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1984.39
ITALIAN LANDSCAPE WITH PEASANTS, late 17th century, Willem de Heusch, Dutch, 1625-1692, Oil on copper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1986.89
PORT SCENE IN VENICE, about 1600, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish, 1568-1625, Oil on copper, Gift of Robert and Mary S. Cushman, 1986.103
LANDSCAPE WITH WATERFALL, 1622, Paul Bril, Flemish, 1554-1626, Oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1987.171
THE REST, about 1694, Pieter van Bloemen, Flemish, 1657-1720, Oil on canvas, Gift from Walter G. and Margit E. Seidl, 1990.156
CHURCH INTERIOR, Pieter Neeffs, I, about 1578-1656/61, Frans Francken, 1581-1642, Flemish, 17th century, Oil on panel, Gift of Nelson Goodman, 1991.45
PEASANTS IN AN INTERIOR, Cornelis Schaeck, Dutch, active 1657-1663, Oil on panel, Gift of John and Ruth Adam, Jr., and the Sarah C. Garver Fund, 1992.28
FRANS POST, about 1655, Frans Hals, Dutch, 1582/83-1666, Oil on panel, Stoddard Acquisition Fund, 1994.273
MERRY COMPANY WITH FLUTIST, about 1628, Dirck Hals, Dutch, 1591-1656, Oil on panel, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1994.289.1
MERRY COMPANY WITH VIOLINIST, about 1628, Dirck Hals, Dutch, 1591-1656, Oil on panel, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr., 1994.289.2
RETURN FROM THE HUNT, 1611, Anthonie Mirou, Flemish, 1586-1661, Oil on copper, Gift from the estate of Robert W. Stoddard, 1999.65
FIGURES SMOKING AND PLAYING MUSIC IN A TAVERN, 1640s, Jan Miense Molenaer, Dutch, 1610-1668, Oil on Panel, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cushman, 1999.384
A WOMAN PULLING A DOG'S EAR, 1662, Frans van Mieris, Dutch, 1635-1681, Oil on panel, Bequest from an estate, 2003.50
A SOLDIER SMOKING A PIPE, 1662, Frans van Mieris, Dutch, 1635-1681, Oil on panel, Bequest from an estate, 2003.51
CROSSBOW AND DEAD GAME, Jan Fyt, Flemish, 1611-1661, Oil on canvas, Bequest from an estate, 2003.52
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