February 27–May 30, 2011

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Discover splendid tapestries, painted portraits, altarpieces, stained glass, exquisite illuminated manuscripts, and monumental sculpture made to express the power and prestige of the kings of France and their court. Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France highlights a fascinating period in French art in the years around 1500, when late Gothic exuberance encountered the energy and harmony of the Italian Renaissance in an elegant fusion of artistic styles. The Art Institute of Chicago invites you to enter an enchanting world of chivalry, royal symbolism, and the rediscovered glamour of antiquity in this stunning exhibition’s only North American venue.


Vessel for the Heart of Anne of Brittany, with Its Crown (detail). Probably Loire Valley or Paris, January 9–March 19, 1514. Musée Dobrée, Nantes, D. 886-1-1.