April highlights
She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2 April–22 August www.ngv.vic.gov.au
This large-scale survey shines a (sunny) light on the breadth of Australia’s Impressionist movement, showing how artists such as Tom Roberts (pictured) and Frederick McCubbin took to the outback to reimagine the national landscape en plein air.
Variations: The Reuse of Models in Paintings by Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi
Cleveland Museum of Art 11 April–22 August www.clevelandart.org
Conservation of Orazio Gentileschi’s Danaë (c. ) has shown how the artist copied figures and compositions from those he had already painted, providing the occasion for this display of remixes by Orazio and his daughter Artemisia.
Gladiators
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli 31 March–30 June museoarcheologiconapoli.it
With some objects, ranging from weapons and armour to marble reliefs and mosaics, this display explores how gladiators lived, fought and died in ancient Rome. Pictured is a first-century helmet of a provocator, with a bust of Hercules embossed on the visor.
Rare and Wondrous: Birds in Art and Culture 1620–1820
Toledo Museum of Art 24 April–25 July www.toledomuseum.org
The expansion of European trade and the rise of colonialism also sparked great ornithological curiosity. With paintings, illustrations and decorative art, this show celebrates the artists who disseminated images of exotic birds from around the globe.
Dante: The Vision of Art Musei San Domenico, Forlì 1 April–11 July www.cultura.comune.forli.fc.it
Co-organised with the Uffizi, this is the flagship display to mark the 700th anniversary of the poet’s death. Some 300 paintings and drawings by artists from Michelangelo to the Romantics reveal the influence of the Commedia on visual art.
Georgia O’Keeffe
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid 20 April–8 August www.museothyssen.org
The first Spanish survey of O’Keeffe’s work traces her career from the early abstractions of the 1910s through to her famous New York views and flower paintings, and on to the desert landscapes with their ram’s skulls, which she painted from her ranch in New Mexico.
Dreams of Freedom: Romanticism in Russia and Germany
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow 23 April–8 August www.tretyakovgallery.ru
This is the first major exhibition to compare how the Romantic movement took root and flourished in Russia and in Germany, with paintings by the likes of Caspar David Friedrich displayed alongside those of Alexander Ivanov et al.
Dawoud Bey: An American Project Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 17 April–3 October www.whitney.org
Since the 1970s, the photographer Dawoud Bey has worked to bring marginalised American communities into view. This retrospective includes his early portraits of Harlem residents as well as recent series exploring the history of slavery.