Houston: Only U.S. Stop for Major Pompeo Batoni ExhibitionOctober 23, 2007
Contact Information: The works are gathered from such prestigious museums as the Barberini Palace in Rome, the Hermitage, the National Gallery, London, the National Gallery of Scotland, the Prado, the Uffizi, and the Vatican, as well as other institutions and private collections. The exhibition, developed by Edgar Peters Bowron, the Audrey Jones Beck Curator of European Art at the MFAH, and Peter Björn Kerber, University of Munich, includes many of Batoni´s major works and examines his career as Rome´s premier artist in the 18th century for portraits and history paintings. Batoni (1708-1787), was a celebrity among wealthy travelers, but the roster of patrons who clamored for his history paintings included emperors, kings, popes, and princes. His works show the influence, variously, of Raphael, Titian, Guido Reni, and Sir Anthony van Dyck. The skills that brought Batoni fame in his day—superb draftsmanship, technical competence, the keen ability to capture likenesses, an amazing command of light and color, and an eye for using Rome´s antiquities as accessories—are the very skills that have led to a renewed appreciation of his achievements in recent years. For more details on the exhibition, please click here. Batoni Symposium In recognition of the 300th anniversary of Batoni´s birth on Jan. 25, 1708, MFAH is planning a day of talks devoted to Batoni and art in 18th-century Rome on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. The symposium is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the museum´s Brown Auditorium Theater. Admission to the talks is free with museum admission. Traveling to Houston/Where to Stay The Houston Airport System serves more than 130 U.S. destinations, making traveling to Houston easier than ever. Hotel ZaZa, a luxury hotel that opened in June 2007, is located only one block from MFAH. Houston's downtown hotels are just a train ride away from the museum—METRORail, Houston's 7.5-mile light rail system runs through downtown and the Museum District. Houston Arts Statistics Source: Houston Arts Alliance *The combined annual attendance for arts and cultural performances, exhibits and other programs in Houston is more than 10.7 million, which includes both Houston residents and visitors. *The nonprofit arts are a $626.3 million industry in Houston, which generates $69.5 million in local and state government revenue. *Houston's nonprofit arts organizations support 14,115 full-time jobs in the local community. An additional 12,192 professional artists call Houston their home. In total, 29,729 jobs are sustained by Houston's nonprofit arts industry. *Nonprofit arts organizations in Houston, which spend $270 million annually, leverage a remarkable $356.3 million in additional spending by arts audiences—spending that pumps vital revenue into local restaurants, hotels, retail stores, parking garages and other businesses. *Event attendees spend an average of $33.49 per person in Houston, not including the cost of admission. This is $11 more than the national average. *Tourists spend an average of $82.10 per person in addition to the cost of their event tickets, a total spending of $132 million a year. *Houston are art and cultural events and exhibitions report 9.2 million visits per year. This is more than twice the number of people who attended Houston's three major league professional sports teams in 2005. *In the past 18 years, Houston has added or expanded 10 art museums or galleries, four major theaters or performance centers and 15 science and history museums. *The Houston Museum District is one of the largest in the country, with 18 world-class institutions within walking distance of one another. *The Houston Museum of Natural Science, with 3,171,690 tickets sold in 2006, is the third most visited museum in the U.S., following only the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. *Houston is one of the few U.S. cities (New York City, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco are others) that offer world-class, year-round resident companies in all of the major performing arts—symphony (Houston Symphony), opera (Houston Grand Opera), drama (Alley Theatre) and ballet (Houston Ballet). *Houston's distinguished collection of civic art, by international artist like Joan Miro and Jean Dubbufet and contemporary artists like Mel Chin, Brad Goldberg and Tony Cragg, can be seen along the 7.5-mile METRORail that links downtown with the Museum District, Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. ### |
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