Unidentified artist, spoon, South Netherlandish, about 1430. Painted enamel and gilding on silver. Helen and Alice Colburn Fund.
Unidentified artist, spoon (detail), South Netherlandish, about 1430. Painted enamel and gilding on silver. Helen and Alice Colburn Fund.
Unidentified artist, spoon, South Netherlandish, about 1430. Painted enamel and gilding on silver. Helen and Alice Colburn Fund.
Unidentified artist, spoon (detail), South Netherlandish, about 1430. Painted enamel and gilding on silver. Helen and Alice Colburn Fund.
Objects from earrings to pyramids look the same size when viewed on a computer screen, but what’s the impact when we confront a work of art in person? Move from miniscule ancient cylinder seals to wall-size paintings, analyzing how scale communicates power, preciousness, splendor, intimacy, and more. How does size connect with our own human proportions or suggest the superhuman, contribute to illusion or counteract it, and generate awe? Inspired by the exhibition “Tiny Treasures: The Magic of Miniatures,” this Looking Together also includes a visit to “Tender Loving Care” to consider how contemporary artists have gone both big and small.
Barbara T. Martin, Alfond Curator Emerita of Education
Wheelchair accessible
Ticket Information
Tickets must be purchased prior to the start of the first session; individual sessions are not available.
To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.