The passage of time through the cycles of nature: Renaissance masterpieces on display in Vienna

From March 11 to June 29, 2025, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is hosting the exhibition Arcimboldo - Bassano - Bruegel. The Times of Nature, curated by Francesca Del Torre Scheuch, with installation curated by Gerhard Veigel.

Central to the major spring exhibition are two universal themes: time and nature. The exhibition explores the connection between human beings and the environment in16th-century Europe, highlighting the different artistic ways in which these aspects were represented. Particular attention is paid to the depiction of the passage of time through the cycles of nature, such as the seasons and months.

The Renaissance, a time of great cultural, scientific and technological ferment, marks profound changes in society. This period is marked by population growth, humanism, the development of science and technology, and travel that expanded knowledge of the world.

With more than eighty works, the Kunsthistorisches Museum boasts the world’s largest collection of works by the Bassano family, famous for their mastery of naturalistic and landscape painting. A recent research project devoted to this family of painters and their workshop provided the impetus for the creation of this exhibition, which displays more than 140 works. These include masterpieces by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Jacopo Bassano and his son Leandro, as well as masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer. The exhibition analyzes both the art-historical aspect of the works and their content, delving into the original intentions of the patrons and the significance of the works in the context of their time. The goal is to show how Renaissance artists interpreted the relationship with the natural world.

The exhibition will feature paintings, sculptures, tapestries, clocks, globes, scientific instruments, calendars, precious manuscripts, and prints from not only the Kunsthistorisches Museum, but also from important international museums and Viennese institutions. These include the Albertina in Vienna, the Uffizi in Florence, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Austrian National Library in Vienna, Royal Collection Trust in London, and the Szépmüvészeti Múzeum in Budapest.

The exhibition invites visitors to embark on a fascinating journey through art, from the earliest knowledge of natural phenomena around 1500 to the birth of still life in the 17th century, when nature became the absolute protagonist of works of art.

For info: https://www.khm.at/en/

The passage of time through the cycles of nature: Renaissance masterpieces on display in Vienna

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