Exhibitions

Above: Virgin and Child, Monastery of the Caves, Ukraine

This exhibition from the collection of the oldest monastery in Ukraine, the Kyiv-Pecherskaya Lavra (or Monastery of the Caves) will survey the history of Ukrainian icons and their stylistic evolution over the centuries. Ukrainian icons, unlike their Russian counterparts, incorporated noted influences from western art, particularly during the Renaissance and Baroque styles. The blending of East and West in their iconography and style is unique and needs to be better known in the US. Alongside icons the exhibition will display textiles, ceremonial and altar crosses, chalices and other liturgical objects. MOBIA will be the first venue in the United States.

Above: Carlo Crivelli, Dead Christ Supported by Angels, ca. 1472, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Passion in Venice presents a sacred theme central to the history of Christian Art: Christ as Man of Sorrows. Its origins rooted in Byzantium, the figure entered Venetian art in the late Middle Ages after which it flourished locally for centuries, eventually acquiring its own name in dialect, Cristo Passo. Drawn from international loans, Passion in Venice examines the rich visual tradition of the sorrowful Christ in Venice across different media, including illuminated manuscripts, paintings, prints, sculpture, and liturgical objects. The exhibition also will address the issue of how this iconography reflected and shaped Venetian piety in the Renaissance and immediately thereafter.