This digital catalogue documents the exceptional collection of Yvonne and Gabriel Weisberg, promised in its entirety to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia). The collection focuses on Realism, art that prioritizes everyday life over themes of mythology, history, or the sphere of the powerful. To date, it comprises nearly two hundred works of art, the lion’s share from France and Belgium, dating from about 1830 to 1930. The works range from preliminary sketches to scrupulously finished drawings, in mediums that include charcoal, chalk, watercolor, pastel, and oil. Winifred Smith introduces the collectors in her biographical essay. Tom Rassieur introduces the collection, the philosophy that guides it, and its art-historical significance. Most of the individual works (all with the advantage of being zoomable) are accompanied by scholarly descriptions, further illuminating the corner of Realism presented here.
