A Feast for the EyesEuropean Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection

March 23 through September 2, 2019

Floris Claesz. van Dyck (Dutch, 1575-1651), Still Life with Fruit and Olives (detail), c. 1600, oil on panel, Grasset Collection

EXTENDED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2!

A Feast for the Eyes: European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection features 40 superb Old Master paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries by major Italian, Spanish, German, and Netherlandish artists.

This is only the second time this collection has been shown publicly.  The Museum of Fine Arts is honored and thrilled to be able to share these extraordinary works of art with our visitors.

Carefully collected and assembled over the last five decades by the Grasset family in Spain, this exhibition will offer a rare glimpse into an exquisite European private collection. The exhibition includes a wide variety of themes, such as sumptuous flower still lifes, as well as splendid banquet scenes—such as Floris Claesz. van Dyck’s Still Life with Fruit and Olives. View seascapes celebrating maritime life, as well as urban scenes capturing the grandeur and beauty of Europe, such as Canaletto’s The Grand Canal. The exhibition will also feature a number of genre scenes, including Esias van de Velde’s Winter Landscape with Elegant Skaters, which beautifully evokes day-to-day life centuries ago.


“When Grasset began his collection, the entire world was weary from World War II. Perhaps that’s why he amassed paintings so full of beauty and joy, as an escape. And when you visit “A Feast for the Eyes,” at least for a little while, you’ve left the outside world behind.”TAMPA BAY TIMES
“…(Mr.) Grasset offered a quick compliment to the Museum of Fine Arts. “I think I never saw the collection as brilliantly displayed as it is here,” he said.” ST. PETE CATALYST
“I could tell. My father doesn’t talk a lot anymore, but I could see it in his eyes when…we were bringing him into the room, and his eyes lit up. Brilliant.” – CRISTINA GRASSET IN BEAUTY & THE ‘BURG PODCAST
“The collection was so visceral, I could smell the roses, taste the grapes, touch the china, recognize the peasants, lose myself in a forest glen. It was a feast for all senses.” – Paradise News
“The Museum of Fine Arts’ exhibition “A Feast for the Eyes: European Masterpieces From the Grasset Collection” is also a feast for the senses.”TAMPA BAY TIMES

 

Leadership support provided by Timothy and Janna Ranney with contributing support from the City of St. Petersburg Office of Cultural Affairs and Sabal Trust.