Charles Frederick Kandler (English). Wine Jug (detail), 1739/40. Silver; Height: 34 cm (13 3/8 in.). Gift of the Antiquarian Society.

CHICAGO, IL.- The Art Institute of Chicago presents A Case for Wine: From King Tut to Today, opening on July 11, 2009, in the museum’s Regenstein Hall, marking the first time a fine arts museum has explored art through the vine. On view until September 20, 2009, this major exhibition features more than 400 objects drawn from the Art Institute’s extensive encyclopedic collection, in addition to loans from other cultural institutions and private collections. The Art Institute is the sole venue for A Case for Wine.

Andrea Mantegna. Italian, 1431-1506, Bacchanalian Group with a Wine Press, c. 1470 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

A Case for Wine explores the cultivation of the grape and its transformation into wine, showcasing not only the making of wine but also the ways it has been stored, poured, and shared throughout centuries, from the barrel to the bottle. Artists from across the world and throughout the ages have also used wine as a source of inspiration for their works, and this exhibition features the fruits of their labors with objects ranging from antiquated wine accoutrements to the work of contemporary painters, sculptors, and photographers.

Jan Steen. Dutch, 1626–1679. The Family Concert, 1666 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

A Case for Wine spreads out through 10 galleries and offers several exceptional highlights, tracing this beloved beverage’s surprisingly significant role as a stimulus and source of artistic endeavors from ancient through modern times. One of the Art Institute’s most famous classical pieces, the “Chicago Painter’s Vase”—a Greek stamnos, or wine jar, (c.450 B.C.)—is showcased in the exhibition. This piece was purchased for the museum in 1889 during one of its very first European buying expeditions and named, by archaeological convention, for the city in which it is housed. The museumʼs outstanding collection of 16th- to 19th-century European wine glasses is displayed alongside paintings by Pieter Claesz, Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, and Henri Fantin-Latour that incorporate remarkably similar wine glasses.

Roman. Pair of Busts of Silenus, 1st century B.C./1st century A.D. © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

The intoxicating exhibition also salutes wine-related works of the Worldʼs Fairs and includes a recent Art Institute acquisition, Victorian architect William Burgesʼs sideboard, whose polychromatic surface tells the apocryphal story of “Saint Bacchus” who dies by drowning in a barrel of wine. Works by Impressionists, Cubists, and Surrealists offer insight into the wineinfused atmosphere of café life. The work of modern and contemporary artists is featured including German painter Brigitte Riesebrodtʼs The Last Supper. This piece was created from recycled wooden wine barrel staves found near the artistʼs home in Tuscany. The stillsaturated wood suffuses the air with the subtle scent of wine, offering wine enthusiasts a chance to put their well-honed noses to work.

Honoré Victorin Daumier, French, 1808-1879, Impressions From the Vintage. “- What! You are treading bare-foot? - So what… you wouldn't want us to do it in our dancing shoes!,” plate 2 from Croquis D'automne, 1856  © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago    

A Case for Wine will be complemented by an array of educational programs. On July 16 at 6:00 pm in Fullerton Hall, Leonard Lesko, chairman emeritus of the department of Egyptology at Brown University, will present Wine of the Pharaoh, a lecture that will review winemaking and tasting in Egypt with a focus on wine jars found in King Tut’s tomb. Visitors are also invited to join Christopher Monkhouse, Eloise W. Martin Curator of European Decorative Arts and curator for A Case for Wine, for an exhibition tour on August 25 at noon. The tour begins in the Modern Wing’s Griffin Court.

England, Birmingham. Designer: Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (English, 1812-1852), Manufacturer: John Hardman & Co. (English, founded 1838), Model Chalice, c. 1849  © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Made for the Cathedral Seo de Urgel, Lérida, Spain. Altar Frontal Depicting Scenes from the Life of Christ, Late 16th century © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Francesco Durantino, Italian, active 1543-1553. Wine Cistern, 1553 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Tiffany and Company, American, founded 1837. Covered "Roman" Punch Bowl, 1893 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Gorham Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1863. Covered Punch Bowl Supported by a Tripod Stand with Gimbals, 1893 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Thomas Couture (French, 1815-1879), printed and manufactured by Jules Desfossé (French, 1816-1889). The Supper after the Masked Ball, c. 1855 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

André Kertész, American, born Hungary, 1894–1985, Café du Dome, Paris, 1925, printed 1970s © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

French. Jean Despres (French, 1889-1980), Centerpiece, c. 1925/30 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

William Glackens, American, 1870-1938, At Mouquin's, 1905 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Greek, Attica. Attributed to The Painter of Naples 3136. Oinochoe (Pitcher), c. 440 B.C. © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

John Sloan, American, 1871-1951, Renganeschi's Saturday Night, 1912 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

William Sidney Mount, American, 1807-1868, Bar-room Scene, 1835 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Mrs. James Ward Thorne, American, 1882-1966, E-10: English Dining Room of the Georgian Period, 1770-90, c. 1937 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, French, 1699–1779, The White Tablecloth, 1731/32 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Dutch (Delft), The Terrace, c. 1660 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853–1890, The Drinkers, 1890 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Italian, 1665-1747, The Wedding at Cana, c. 1686 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Aleksei Alekseevich Morgunov, Russian, 1884–1935, Portrait of Nathalija Gontcharova and Mihajl Larionov, 1913 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Joseph Cornell, American, 1903–1972, Untitled (Yellow Sand Fountain), early 1950s © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Tiffany and Company, American, founded 1837, Punch Bowl, 1873 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Archibald John Motley, Jr., American, 1891-1981, Nightlife, 1943 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

René Magritte, Belgian, 1898–1967, Untitled (Bottle Nude), c. 1946/49 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago

Viktor Schreckengost,  American, 1906-2008, Made for Cowan Pottery Studio (1913-1931) Rocky River, Ohio, Jazz Bowl, c. 1931 © 2009 The Art Institute of Chicago