What's On at Europe's Museums

A Sporting Encounter

Olympic Museum, Lausanne

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne is showing two temporary exhibitions revolving around the world of sports. The first, "Sports in Every Sense" is an interactive presentation inviting visitors to put their five senses to the test and discover some unusual aspects and amusing anecdotes about the Olympic Games. The exhibition "Ella Maillart: sportswoman and Ella Maillart on the road of the East" is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ella Maillart (1903-1997) the Geneva-based adventurer and sportswoman of the 20th century. Maillart excelled at sailing, skiing and field hockey and created the first women’s field hockey team in Switzerland. Fascinated by the efficiency of the Soviet sports system, she also traveled to Russia and Central Asia.

"Sports in Every Sense" through January 18, 2004, "Ella Maillart" till October 19, 2003 daily through September 30 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., from October 1 Tuesday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m

"Super Warhol"

Grimaldi Forum, Monaco

Legendary American pop artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is being celebrated at an exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Titled "Super Warhol," the show takes a look at the cult artist’s monumental works from early 1960 to 1986. From cinema to photography, video, design, press and television Warhol used a variety of creative media to pick on potent images from pop culture and elevate them to the level of art. His most famous works remain Marilyn Monroe in Day-Glo yellow and pink, Mao Tse-tung in yellow, blue and green and Campbell’s soup cans in standard red and white. The show also includes Warhol’s large installations – some over 12 meters long."If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There's nothing behind it," Warhol once said.

Through August 31, 2003, daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Rare Chinese Treasures

Altes Museum, Berlin

Berlin’s Altes Museum is showing a unique exhibition of ancient Chinese art treasures from the National Palace Museum in Taiwan called "Treasures of the Sons of Heaven: The Imperial Collection from the National Palace Museum, Taipei." The show encompasses more than 400 masterpieces, including famous paintings and calligraphic art by old masters, seals, porcelain, antique bronze figurines and jade and ivory carvings. The collection spans art works dating from 400 BC to the late 19th century. The show also includes artifacts rarely shown abroad. The works reflect the versatility and creativity of Chinese art, as well as the social, political and intellectual trends in Chinese history. The Imperial collection is the largest Chinese art collection worldwide and was moved to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Through October 12, 2003, Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Michelangelo, the Man

Palazzo Venezia, Rome

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) wasn’t just the acclaimed master of the Italian late Renaissance and founder of the Classicism and Mannerism, he also led an active life at the court of his patron Lorenzo de Medici in San Lorenzo. A large show at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome attempts to portray Michelagelo the man and not just the artist that the world knows. Titled "Michelangelo between Florence and Rome," the exhibition includes 20 graphic works of the artist as well as signatures, portraits and poems. The presentation focuses in particular on Michelangelo’s work on the tombs of the Medici in the new sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. An acclaimed sculptor, painter, architect and poet, Michelangelo exerted a tremendous influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent Western art.

Through October 12, 2003, Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

From Indonesia with Love

Stadtmuseum Lindau, Bavaria

Crown Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (1869-1955) traveled with his wife Princess Marie Gabrielle and his nephew Prince Georg to Indonesia in 1903. The Indonesian archipelago was a Dutch colony at the time. The crown prince visited the island of Java and was confronted with a mix of Indian and Eastern Asian influences, as he wrote later. Many of his descriptions of Indonesian culture are still relevant today and several places he visited then have remained popular tourist spots. The prince’s accounts are presented in an exhibition at the Stadtmuseum in Lindau. Many of the gifts Prince Ruprecht received as a guest of the Indonesian state are on view in the show, as well as photographs and artifacts from the prince's collection.

Through September 28, 2003, open Sundays and Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.