1. Donatello, The Renaissance, Florence, Italy
Donatello was regarded as the pinnacle of his time. Before Michelangelo, Raphael, Masaccio, or even Leonardo da Vinci, this artist had wholly reimagined the medium of sculpture. Exhibits at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan and the Bargello Museum in Florence will take visitors back through Donatello’s incredible career.
The exhibition “Donatello, The Renaissance” features 130 paintings from over 60 museums and cultural organizations, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the Louvre in Paris. Some pieces here have never been shown together before, while others have never even left Siena, Padua, or Ferrara, where they were created. Examples are the bronze doors of the former sacristy at Florence’s Basilica of San Lorenzo and the gilded bronze relief sculpture “Feast of Herod” at Siena’s Baptistery of San Giovanni.
2. I Call It Art, Oslo, Norway
The new National Museum of Norway, located on the banks of the Oslo Fjord, was long in the making but well deserving of the wait. There are around 13,000 square meters dedicated to showing space within a total building area of approximately 54,600 square meters.
Even more so, the first exhibition at the Nasjonalmuseet is ambitious. The display takes over 2,400 square meters of the museum’s Light Hall, an adaptable area for traveling exhibits. The exhibition “I Call It Art” showcases the work of 150 individual Norwegian artists and groups. Identity, belonging, nationalism, and democracy are just a few social concerns you will explore during an art show in Europe.
3. Documenta 15 , Kassel, Germany
Along with the Venice Biennale, Documenta is regarded as one of the most significant showcases of contemporary art. Documenta is held in Kassel, Germany, for 100 days every five years. More than 1,500 artists from the Indonesian collective ruangrupa will have their work on display at this year’s European art expo.
Jimmie Durham, a sculptor, and writer, actively engaged in the war for Native American civil rights, is featured in several of them. There will also be a performance by Black Quantum Futurism, a collaborative art project that explores the link between time and oppressive structures. Marwa Arsanios, on the other hand, is an artist, filmmaker, and researcher whose projects often address issues of sexism, collectivism, urbanization, and industrialization.
4. Pharaoh Superstars, Marseille, France
Who hasn’t heard of Cheops, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ramesses, or Cleopatra? Some Ancient Egyptian monarchs have achieved legendary status around the globe. Nectanebo and Teti are only two more who were once famous but are now forgotten.
This phenomenon is examined in “Pharaoh Superstars,” an exhibition at the Mucem in Marseille that features approximately 300 objects from the museum’s collection and the most important French and European museums. The Egyptian hieroglyphs, along with those seen in medieval illuminated manuscripts and classical paintings, are only a few of the many types of artworks included. As a result of these artifacts, visitors learn about the lives and, more importantly, the posthumous popularity of these great personalities, some of whom have become permanent fixtures in popular culture.
The “Pharaoh Superstars” exhibition will travel from the Mucem in Marseille to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, from November 24, 2022, to March 6, 2023.
