Rare Collection Of Old Masters Paintings On Display In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Landscapes and still-life paintings from one of the world’s greatest private collections come together in "A Feast for the Eyes: European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection," now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.

The exhibition features 40 of the finest Old Master paintings by artists from the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Germany—including Jan Brueghel the Elder and Canaletto, one of the greatest view painters of all time, represented in the exhibit with an iconic view of Venice.

The Baroque works span from 1600 to 1750. The collection is on loan from the Grasset family of Spain, whose patriarch assembled this group of masterpieces. The St. Petersburg exhibition is the last time the works are expected to be shown together.

This group of paintings has only been exhibited publicly once -- at the San Diego Museum of Art in 2016. This once-in-a-lifetime collection features some of the most renowned still life, landscape and banquet scenes of the “Golden Age.” The works reflect the growing power of the middle class in this time period, the impact of maritime trade, the desire to capture images of luxury and abundance in art, and the emergence of the art market, along with a number of subtle “hidden” symbolic meanings to be discovered.

After the exhibit in St. Petersburg ends on July 28, the paintings will be returned to the home of the Grassets in Madrid.

The exhibition begins with exotic floral pieces that reflect with precision and detail the expanding trade and scientific curiosity that defined the era. This opulence is also displayed in the exhibition’s banquet pieces, such as the "Still Life of Fruit" and "Olives" by Floris Claesz van Dyck (1575-1651), featuring cheeses, wine and exotic fruits in a Chinese porcelain bowl that had been brought over long, treacherous sea routes.

"A Feast for the Eyes" also includes seascapes celebrating maritime life and trade, most notably "The Grand Canal" of Venice, Italy, by Canaletto (1697-1768) and scenes like "Winter Landscape with Elegant Skaters (1616) by Esaias van den Velde (1587-1630).

As for “hidden” symbolic meanings, discerning visitors will spot such touches as a mouse and
dead songbirds in the "Still Life" of grapes and peaches in a porcelain bowl by Peter Binoit (1590-
1632), symbolizing how wealth and success can be fleeting

And in a work by Jan Breughel the Elder (1568-1625), "A Wooded River Landscape," with a fish market and fishing Boats (1610), a windmill in the distance has several meanings, symbolizing power and prosperity but also a reference to religion and the crucifixion.

“We are enormously grateful to the Grasset family for their generosity in sharing their private
collection,” said Kristen A. Shepherd, executive director of the Museum of Fine Arts, St.
Petersburg. “This exhibition is truly a gift – in particular, a gift to young people in our
community whose first impression of so-called ‘Old Masters’ will be these delightfully fresh
and lively masterpieces. The Grasset Collection also gives our visitors the opportunity to study
and appreciate masterworks rarely seen.”

"A Feast for the Eyes" will be on view through July 28. As part of the exhibition, MFA will also have an interactive gallery guide for guests of all ages as a fun way to explore the Golden Age and the artworks.

Additionally, residents are invited to the following lectures by art experts:

* The Glorious Table: Food and Drink in European Baroque Paintings

Speaker: Senior curator and head of Product Design and Decorative Arts at Cooper Hewitt,
Smithsonian Design Museum, Dr. Yao-Fen You

Thursday, April 4, 7-8 p.m. (free with museum admission)

* Chinese Porcelain in Dutch Paintings

Speaker: Cofrin Curator of Asian Art at the Harn Museum of Art, Jason Steuber

Tuesday, April 9, 2-3 p.m. ($5 plus museum admission)

* Coffee Talk with Nan Colton – “A Feast for the Eyes”

Wednesday, April 10, 10-11 a.m. (free with museum admission)

* Feasting & Frivolity Gala

Friday, April 12, 6:30-11 p.m. (Tickets available online)

* Cocktails & Collections - Includes a docent-led tour of “A Feast for the Eyes”

Thursday, April 18, 5-7 p.m. (Free for members, $20 for non-MFA members)

* The Bounty of the Natural World in the 17th Century Painting

Speaker: Alexandra Libby, assistant curator of Northern Baroque paintings at the National Gallery of Art

Thursday May 2, 7-8 p.m. (free with museum admission)

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