Claude Vignon, Saint Paul, Harvard Art Museums, Purchased through the generosity of an Anonymous Donor, 1994.150, Photo by Imaging Department, President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze, The Laundress, Harvard Art Museums, Gift of Charles E. Dunlap, 1957.181, Photo by Imaging Department, President and Fellows of Harvard College.

The Pulitzer
Foundation for the Arts
3716 Washington Boulevard
St. Louis
314.754.1850
Ideal (Dis-) Placements:
Old Masters at the Pulitzer
October 24, 2008-
October 3, 2009

The Pulitzer has joined forces with the Harvard Art Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum to present Old Master paintings and drawings from their collections.

The selection comprises artworks by renowned artists from the 14th to the 18th centuries, including Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pontormo, Giambattista Tiepolo, Jacob van Ruisdael, and Jean-Baptiste Greuze.

Since Pulitzer architect Tadao Ando sought to emphasize the effects of ever-changing daylight at the Pulitzer, the visitor will be able to see the majority of the works without the assistance of electric lighting. The Pulitzer exhibition therefore hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the viewing conditions of the past, allowing an appreciation of the works outside of the confines of today's traditional museums.

Curators Judith Mann (Saint Louis Art Museum) and Stephan Wolohojian (Harvard Art Museum) together with Matthias Waschek (the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts) have constituted an "ideal” collection of paintings to interact with the Pulitzer's architecture by Tadao Ando, while Marjorie B. Cohn (Harvard Art Museum) and Francesca Herndon-Consagra (the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts) worked on the selection and presentation of drawings.

The display of these works transforms the gallery spaces into abstractions of historic environments, such as the Grande Galerie of an aristocratic art collector of the 17th century and the interiors of Medieval and Renaissance churches. Since Ando sought to emphasize the effects of ever-changing daylight at the Pulitzer, the visitor will also see the majority of the works without the assistance of electric lighting to understand better the viewing conditions of the past and to appreciate these works outside of the confines of today’s traditional museums.

In collaboration with the two lending institutions, the Pulitzer plans a series of experimental programs, involving the general public as well as specialists. Innovative projects generated in collaboration with the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and other partners will be announced shortly.

Through art exhibitions, programs, collaborations, and exchanges with other institutions, the Pulitzer aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of art and architecture and is a resource for artists, architects, scholars, students and the general public.