Real and imagined people

Curator

• Dr. David de Witt

From the museum website, 2 September 2009

The human figure has long been the prime focus of the European artistic tradition. Whether portraits in the conventional sense or representations of the imagined or idealized personae of history, myth or the Bible, these images hold a mirror to their own societies and illuminate various prescribed roles of the individual. This exhibition brings together 26 compelling works from the Art Centre's collection of 16th and 17th century European painting to explore the wide range of artistic visions of humanity during two centuries of western art.