Dangerous Women

Through May 20, 2018

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU presents the world premiere of “Dangerous Women,” a show organized by the Ringling Museum of Art in partnership with the Frost Art Museum FIU and the Cornell Museum (Rollins College). The exhibition explores how society has perceived historic females characters, whose power to topple the strongest of male rulers made them “dangerous.” Paradoxically, their strength served as foundation for thinking about contemporary feminist causes.

Some artists from the Renaissance and Baroque periods often included these fascinating characters as an excuse to paint the sensuous female nude form, while other artists from these and other periods focused on the drama and morals contained in their stories. Whether these women were deemed as saints or sinners, their stories and passions shaped biblical history and perceptions that would be taught, reviewed and re-evaluated for centuries.

Francesco Cairo, (Italian, Milan, 1607–1665), Judith with the Head of Holofernes, ca. 1633–37, oil on canvas, 47” × 37.12.” Museum Purchase, 1966. Courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum.

Featuring spectacular and thought-provoking Old Master paintings from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s collection, the exhibition showcases more than 20 paintings and etchings of women found in the Bible masterfully rendered by 16^th and 17^th-century artists, including: Pietro da Cortona, Fede Galizia, Pordenone, Giovanni Andrea Sirani and Francesco del Cairo. Many of these works are accompanied by Old Master prints and drawings, including Jan Saenredam’s series entitled Famous Women of the New Testament. The exhibition concludes with modern and contemporary works, such as the sensuous Salome (1901) by Robert Henri, and Portrait of Mamma Bush (2010) by Mickalene Thomas.

Robert Henry (American, Cincinnati 1865–1929 New York), Salome, 1909, oil on canvas, 196.9 × 94 cm. Museum purchase, 1974. Courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum.

“This timely new exhibition of old-master paintings demonstrates how powerful women were feared, even when their acts were heroic,” said Dr. Jordana Pomeroy, the Director of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU. “As the director of the museum in Miami that distinguishes itself by presenting works that span all historical periods, I want our public to appreciate the narrative of women who are either victims of sexual violence or dominate powerful men, which feels utterly relevant to conversations trending right now. As remote as some of these works may initially appear, art history provides a lens with which to see shifting perceptions about women over centuries,” adds Pomeroy.

After its presentation at The Frost, “Dangerous Women” will travel to the Cornell Museum (Rollins College), in Winter Park. www.thefrost.fiu.edu.