A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of 1500
Faculty Curated Exhibition
The Nasher Museum presented a multi-media exhibition that brought to life the city of Venice through Jacopo de’ Barbari’s iconic View. Printed in 1500, this mural-sized woodcut portrays a bird’s eye view of the city that was instantly recognized as a technological and artistic masterpiece, a portrait of an urban marvel. No other city view rivaled its grandeur, ambition, or detail. With staggering precision, the View of Venice visually describes the dense fabric of the city—thousands of buildings, hundreds of bridges, and a complex network of islands, canals, narrow streets, squares, and wellheads. The original print was on loan from the Minneapolis Institute of Art for this exhibition.
For the first time, this exhibition animated the View of Venice with interactive displays that told stories of one of the wealthiest, most powerful and greatly admired cities in the early modern world. Touchscreens revealed the production of this extraordinary print as well as the historical and social themes that emerge from the image: the celebrated uniqueness of Venice, detailed city views, women and men, the state, religious life, collections and lost treasures. An augmented reality highlights the stunning continuities and remarkable transformations to the city in the more than 500 years following the View’s publication in Venice.
This exhibition was curated by Kristin L. Huffman, Instructor of Art History in Duke University’s Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. The project, part of the Visualizing Venice initiative, is the result of multi-disciplinary and collaborative research developed over three years in the Wired! Lab at Duke.
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Visitors enjoy interactive displays that tell stories of Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of 1500. Photo by J Caldwell.
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Visitors enjoy interactive displays that tell stories of Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of 1500. Photo by J Caldwell.
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Kristin L. Huffman (left), Instructor of Art History in Duke University’s Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, curated the exhibition. Photo by J Caldwell.
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Jacopo de’ Barbari, Italian (Venice), c. 1460/70–before 1516, View of Venice, 1500. Woodcut from six blocks on six sheets of paper, 52 1/4 x 109 1/4 in. (132.72 x 277.5 cm) (sheet). Minneapolis Institute of Art. The John R. Van Derlip Fund. 2010.88. Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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Jacopo de’ Barbari, View of Venice, 1500. Woodcut from six blocks on six sheets of paper, 52 1/4 x 109 1/4 in. (132.72 x 277.5 cm) (sheet). Minneapolis Institute of Art. The John R. Van Derlip Fund. 2010.88. Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
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Installation view; A Portrait of Venice: Jacopo de' Barbari's View of 1500; September 7–December 31, 2017. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
Behind the Scenes: Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of Venice
This multimedia, interactive exhibition was three years in the making. Led by Duke art history instructor Kristin L. Huffman, undergraduate and graduate students have formed part of the working team in the Wired! Lab at Du...
Published