Published to coincide with the opening of the Audrey Jones Beck building in March of 2000, this lavishly illustrated catalogue--the first single volume dedicated to this extraordinary collection--features one hundred of the most important European paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The works, which range in date from the early Renaissance to the beginning of the twentieth century, are all handsomely featured as full-page color plates. The accompanying text is highly accessible, providing interesting insights into the artists' lives and explaining--in general terms--the stylistic evolution of the history of European painting. Furthermore, important new research on unpublished works has been incorporated into the entries.

The European painting collection of the Museum of Fine Arts has grown tremendously over the past fifty years through the generosity of major donors and patrons. The 1944 bequest by Edith A. and Percy S. Straus forms the foundation of the permanent collection, including works by such well-known Italian and Northern Renaissance artists as Fra Angelico, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hans Memling. The next milestone was the acquisition of the Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial Collection, which comprises splendid pictures spanning many centuries, such as major works by Giovanni di Paolo, Frans Hals, Canaletto, Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas. Purchases and gifts, including substantial donations from Samuel H. Kress and the Kress Foundation from the 1930s through the 1960s, further strengthened the holdings of Renaissance and Baroque pictures with exceptional works such as Sebastiano del Piombo's Portrait of Anton Francesco degli Albizzi and Orazio Gentileschi's Portrait of a Young Woman as a Sibyl. The renowned John A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection includes a significant number of important Impressionist and modern paintings, represented herein with works by Edouard Manet, Gustave Caillebotte, Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Signac, Georges Braque, and Vassily Kandinsky. Represented as well are some of the museum's most important recent acquisitions, such as Still Life with Golden Bream, a stunning canvas by Francisco de Goya, and Still Life of Flowers and Fruit, a ravishing work by Jan van Huysum.

With beautiful reproductions and informative commentary, Masterworks of European Painting will be of great appeal to art lovers and scholars alike.