CLARK ART INSTITUTE’S ‘LOOKING AND LUNCHING’ TALK FOCUSES ON DELACROIX PAINTING

February 7, 2019

Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Clark Art Institute’s popular “Looking and Lunching” series continues on Thursday, February 21 at 12 pm with a talk by Associate Curator of Contemporary Projects Robert Wiesenberger as he takes a close look at Eugène Delacroix’s Two Horses Fighting in a Stormy Landscape (oil on canvas, c. 1828). The half-hour gallery talk is followed by lunch and further discussion with Wiesenberger and fellow art lovers. Free with gallery admission; plan to arrive early to pre-order and purchase a meal or bring a lunch. Visitors should meet at the admissions desk in the Clark Center. Seating is limited.

Wiesenberger discusses the artist's fascination with animal subjects from a contemporary perspective. Delacroix, among the most significant artists associated with the Romantic movement in early nineteenth-century European art, sometimes used animals in his paintings to evoke elemental aspects of human nature. In this painting, with its freely applied brushstrokes and stormy sky, the image of fighting horses has an ominous, dreamlike character. The halo effect of the pale horse’s mane and the violence of the dark horse’s lunge evoke a conflict between the forces of good and evil.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 275,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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