April 27, 2024
The Muscarelle’s spring Selected Topics in Architecture lecture series will focus on the flourishing Renaissance period, when architectural innovation resulted in some of the world’s most breathtaking and magnificent structures. Join Director David Brashear and author Ross King for a discussion of Brunelleschi’s Dome, the New York Times best-selling story of the construction of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Renaissance genius who reinvented architecture to build it. This webinar will be offered via Zoom. Register now to receive the link.
April 3, 2024
The Muscarelle’s spring Selected Topics in Architecture lecture series will focus on the flourishing Renaissance period, when architectural innovation resulted in some of the world’s most breathtaking and magnificent structures. Director David Brashear will present Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance Architecture on April 3 in Tucker Hall Theatre. Perhaps more than in any other art form, the Italian Renaissance in architecture was rooted in a revival — a revisiting and reinterpretation of the buildings of classical antiquity. The buildings conceived by Italian artists in the 15th and 16th centuries, who were frequently pressed into architectural duty, were a collective reflection of the great […]
March 2, 2024
The Muscarelle’s spring Selected Topics in Architecture lecture series will focus on the flourishing Renaissance period, when architectural innovation resulted in some of the world’s most breathtaking and magnificent structures. We invite Muscarelle Members to join us for a special virtual lecture with Art Historian Elaine Ruffolo focused on Medici Villas. From the 14th to the 18th century, the Medici family dominated European life. While promoting both arts and sciences, the Medici helped create a new style of architecture, present a new idea of villa life and promote the novel idea of living in harmony with nature. Learn about a […]
February 21, 2024
The Muscarelle’s spring Selected Topics in Architecture lecture series will focus on the flourishing Renaissance period, when architectural innovation resulted in some of the world’s most breathtaking and magnificent structures. Join us for our first lecture, given by Adriano Marinazzo, Curator of Special Projects at the Muscarelle. Michelangelo is the author of one of the most famous frescoes in the world (The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel) and one of the most admired statues (the David). Yet the great artist is also regarded as one of the most influential architects in history. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the foremost architect […]
June 29, 2023
After many years of planning, ground was broken in March 2023 for the Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts. Designed by Bill Butler of the world-renowned firm Pelli Clarke and Partners, the Center will be the new home of the Muscarelle Museum of Art when it opens in fall 2024. The design features a grand entry atrium, new education spaces, a tripling of gallery space, and many other important features. Join us for this program hosted by David Brashear, Director of the Muscarelle, that will include an update and progress report on the construction underway. This talk will […]
May 17, 2023
Join Muscarelle Director David Brashear for an insider’s view of the recent and upcoming renovations at two of Richmond’s premier museums. We’ll start the day at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, home of the Virginia Historical Society, the oldest cultural organization in Virginia. A guided tour with museum leadership and architects will take us inside the recently completed, award-winning renovations that transformed nearly 2/3 of the museum’s 250,000 square feet of space. After a break for lunch, we’ll hear from Michael R. Taylor, Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education at the Virginia Museum of Fine […]
March 28, 2023
Join us for the first lecture in our spring Selected Topics in Architecture series, which will focus on museum design through the ages. David Brashear, Director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art, will present “The Invention of the Museum as Public Institution in the 18th and 19th Centuries.” The concept of the modern museum was born in the Enlightenment that swept across Europe in the 18th century. The idea of a public museum gained traction in France in the 1770s, and designs by Étienne-Louis Boullée and Jean-Nicholas-Louis Durand paved the way for the remaking of the Louvre as a public […]
May 25, 2021
Looking toward a growing National Capital, regional and Federal leaders came together in the second half of the 20th century to make major improvements in the local, national and international transportation systems serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Engaging accomplished designers and visionaries like Eero Saarinen for the creation of Dulles Airport, Harry Weese for the design of the Metro System, and César Pelli for a complete makeover of Reagan National Airport, the region was catapulted ahead of other American cities with an efficient and interconnected transportation system that used a wide and compelling modern vocabulary. This presentation will focus […]
April 13, 2021
In 1932 the Museum of Modern Art had its first architectural exhibition, organized by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, Modern Architecture: International Exhibition. After closing in New York, the exhibition toured across America for three years, spreading Hitchcock and Johnson’s conception of modernism throughout the United States. The ideas presented in the show were both highly influential and controversial, as it excluded many examples of contemporary American architectural practice. In this lecture Dr. Lord will explore the formal components of the International Style as described by Hitchcock and Johnson, critical responses to the exhibition, and the legacy of the International […]