Current Exhibitions
Serial Flirtations: Rotari’s Muses
The Norton Simon Museum presents an intimate exhibition examining Pietro Rotari (1707–1762), an illustrious Italian artist who found success and fortune in Vienna and beyond, ultimately becoming court painter to Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Serial Flirtations: Rotari’s Muses brings together eight paintings from the Simon holdings attributed to Rotari and his studio, including his iconic Young Girl Writing a Love Letter. Six rarely displayed character studies, all of which were returned to the artist’s family after his death in St. Petersburg and retained until the 1970s by the Cartolari family, his heirs, will be featured as a set. As a whole, the installation commemorates Rotari’s inclination to summon his muses and celebrates the 310th anniversary of the artist’s birth.
LEARN MOREMaven of Modernism: Galka Scheyer in California
Maven of Modernism: Galka Scheyer in California delves into the life of the enterprising dealer responsible for the art phenomenon the “Blue Four”—Lyonel Feininger, Alexei Jawlensky, Paul Klee and Vasily Kandinsky. The exhibition presents exceptional examples from Scheyer’s personal collection by the Blue Four artists, as well as works by artists including Alexander Archipenko, László Moholy-Nagy, Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera, which was given to the Pasadena Art Institute in the early 1950s. All together, these works and related ephemera tell the fascinating story of this trailblazing impresario, who helped shape California’s reputation as a burgeoning center for modern art.
LEARN MOREFrom top to bottom: Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian, 1707-1762), Young Girl Writing a Love Letter, c. 1755, Oil on canvas, Norton Simon Art Foundation; Emil Nolde (German, 1867-1956), Head in Profile, 1919, Watercolor and India ink on tan wove paper, 14-1/2 x 11-1/8 in. (36.8 x 28.3 cm), Norton Simon Museum, The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection, © Nolde Stiftung Seebüll, Germany
