Talking Pictures 1400–1800

In the grand historical paintings of the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, the often moralizing narratives of antiquity and the Bible assume a powerful visual presence. Here, imagined and lived history converge—a convergence that was evi- dent to all at that time. Talking Pictures 1400–1800 is being published to coincide with the eponymous exhibition at the Arp Museum in Rolandseck. The exhibition places thirty historical and genre paintings from the collection of the Musée national d’archéologie, d’histoire et d’art (MNAHA), Luxembourg, in artistic dialogue with masterpieces from the Rau Collection for UNICEF. Together, they offer a glimpse into the capacity for painting to depict both imagined and lived history and to shed light on timeless fundamental truths of human coexistence.