On Exhibit

Touched by an Angel

In this 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Karel Du Jardin that hangs in the Ringling Museum, golden-haired angels provide water and direction to Abraham’s wife, Hagar, and her son, Ishmael, who are lost in the wilderness.

Du Jardin has created an idealized and theatrical scene on canvas with nearly life-size figures to tell a story from the Bible. The four individuals are handsome and attractive, and the painting’s composition offers a near-perfect balance of simplicity and elegance in the refinement of the figures, their poses and the swirls of drapery. The surface of the painting is smooth and almost photographic in its realism, and yet brush marks are evident upon close inspection. They help define the sharp, crisp contours of the clothing. In contrast, bare skin appears soft and supple because Du Jardin studied the Italian Renaissance masters’ painting technique of sfumato, in which the artist paints what appears to be the moist air that hovers just above the naked limbs of the figures.

Du Jardin made this painting for a private chapel in the home of a Catholic family living in Calvinist Holland. He proudly placed his signature in the broken entablature in the left foreground.—Mark Ormond


ART

Venice Art Center. The center’s student exhibition ends its run June 14; it’s followed by a quilt exhibition June 20 through Aug. 10. 485-7136.

Selby Gallery. A Florida Artists Group exhibition continues through June 15, as does a show of pieces by longtime Sarasota sculptor Frank Colson. 359-7563.

Art Center Sarasota. The center’s annual Florida Photo Open runs through June 16 in the Main Gallery, with portrait painters featured in the Front Gallery. Opening June 26 to run through Aug. 4: a juried open exhibition and an Easter Seals juried show. 365-2032.

Sonnet Gallery. Continuing on view through June 20 is Gone With the Circus, featuring figurative works on canvas by San Francisco artist Kate Anderson. Opening at 6 p.m. June 22 is The Erotic Exhibition, featuring different media and interpretations of erotic work by local and national artists. (Due to its content, this show will be in a private area of the gallery.) 928-6490.

Salvador Dali Museum. The museum continues its exhibition, Dali & the Spanish Baroque, through June 24. (727) 823-3767.

Tampa Museum of Art. Two exhibitions, Eberhard Havecost 1996-2006: Paintings from the Rubell Family Collection and Memorials of Identity: New Media, also from the Rubell collection, remain on view here through July 8. You can also see works by “outsider” artist Purvis Young from the museum’s own collection through July 22. (813) 274-5130.

Museum of Fine Arts. Continuing on view through July 8 at the St. Petersburg museum are three shows: 20th-Century North Carolina Pottery; On the Road: Photographs Across America, featuring works by 19 artists that take the viewer on an extended road trip; and Compelling Visions: Florida Collects Folk Art, including works by the Rev. Howard Finster, Mose Tolliver and Purvis Young, among others. (727) 896-2667.

Ringling Museum of Art. In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers continues here through Aug. 12, offering viewers a chance to recapture historic moments as seen through the lenses of such photographers as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and Sebastiao Salgado. Opening June 16 to run through Sept. 16 is Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism, an exhibition of some 40 paintings from the Brooklyn Museum of Art that includes such artists as Monet, Courbet, John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam. And don’t forget to view the “pocket exhibition” Canaletto Paired: 18th-Century Venetian View Painting, on view through July 29. 359-5700.

Palm Avenue Gallery Walk. The walk offers live music and more from 6 to 9 p.m. June 1 along the avenue. 955-1315.

State of the Arts Gallery. On view this month and next: The Writing on the Wall, featuring artists’ statements and commentaries in the form of art and flags. 955-2787.

Galleria Silecchia. Works on canvas by Cary Henrie dominate the Palm Avenue gallery June 1 through July 5. 365-7414.

St. Armands Crafts Festival. More than 175 artisans participate in this annual event, which also includes live music. From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. June 10 on the circle; call 962-0388.

*UPDATED* Madonna Stella Studio. On view at this Main Street gallery: Sarasota As I See It by Madonna Stella, and Commotion by Anita Wexler. Classes in clay for adults, preteens and teenagers are also offered. 706-2119.

BENEFITS

Speaking of Women’s Health. The fifth annual WEDU conference in Sarasota is set for June 2 at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, and welcomes keynote speakers Dr. Pamela Peeke (“Be Strong, Be Healthy, Be in Charge: At Every Age”) and Nancy Coey (“What Would Happen If I DID Remove the Mattress Tag?!?!”) There will also be breakout sessions, a continental breakfast, luncheon, health screenings and more. Tickets are $50; call (800) 354-9338 ext. 2241.