Final Louvre exhibit organized for impact

“The Louvre and the Masterpiece,” the last installment of the three-year collaboration between the High Museum and the Paris museum, is also the best. The exhibition, which opens Sunday, is rich with fascinating objects. Spanning 4,000 years, the list includes a 14th century Islamic inlaid copper basin and a medieval column capital as well as more familiar honor-roll loans, including heart-stopping paintings from Ingres and Vermeer. Its roster, though persuasive, is not the reason for my superlative. What distinguishes this exhibit from its predecessors is the meaningful and provocative context in which the objects are presented.

The organizing principle of the first two years was the history of the Louvre. A serviceable armature for a parade of objects rather than an enlightening thesis, it resulted in the inclusion of works of minor interest, and on occasion left visitors in the dark about the importance of the pieces selected. The antique pottery that Empress Josephine collected, for example, was presented en masse in Year Two with no real handle supplied as to why we should look at them, or care.

In contrast, this year’s theme, the concept of the “masterpiece,” is fundamental to how we in the Western world understand and evaluate art, and fundamental to the mission of an art museum. And it provides a framework for looking at art that can enrich a viewer’s experience well beyond this show.

The first part explores the history of the term. We learn that it has no fixed meaning. To the contrary, the masterpiece is unmasked as a cultural construct that is molded by the values, tastes, knowledge and philosophy of a particular time. Hence, the phenomenon of works ignored or reviled in one era that are revered in another.

One poor ancient Greek sculpture known as “The Lady of Auxerre” served as a theater prop and later a hat stand in a provincial museum until rescued by a Louvre curator, who understood its importance as a very early example. Its simplified shape and stylized details, dismissed as mere crudity in the 19th century, became a positive in the early 20th century for viewers primed by similar abstraction of modern art.

No matter how blinkered our assessments, making distinctions is important and unavoidable. The exhibition’s second part is a primer on the art of looking at art. Groupings of similar objects of different quality help clarify the difference between them. The labels guide visitors about what to look for.

Although these exercises focus on craftsmanship and technical mastery, which was the original meaning of “masterpiece,” the term as we understand it today also encompasses such qualities as historic importance, (the aforementioned Lady) originality and impact.

To which I would add: Je ne sais quoi. Vermeer’s “The Astronomer” —- which depicts a scholar at work, a set piece common at the time —- is an exemplar of technical virtuosity, rich in subtlety and meticulously incarnated detail. The rewards of careful looking advocated elsewhere in the show are many. The light seeping through the window. The three-dimensional folds of the drapery. The way edges melt into air. The carefully plotted composition.

But the effect of the 17th-century Dutch master’s painting goes beyond pleasure in its visual attributes and the expectations of its genre. He infused “The Astronomer” with mystery and wonder, a sense that a man at work is somehow a sacred act. Masterpiece or not, it is great art.

REVIEW: “The Louvre and the Masterpiece”

Through Sept. 6, 2009. $18; $15, seniors and students with IDS; $11, children 6-17; free for members and children 5 and under. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays; until 8 p.m. Thursdays; 12-5 p.m. Sundays. High Museum of Art. 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4444. www.high.org

Bottom Line: A provocative thesis and many fascinating works of art: Louvre Atlanta heads toward conclusion with a mighty grand finale.

There will be a number of rotations in and out of the yearlong show. Check www.high.org for details.