THE SIR DENIS MAHON FOUNDATION was created by Sir Denis in his lifetime.
It aims to continue his philanthropic work, his art historical research and his passionate promotion of young scholars.
It promotes his art collection and lifelong work and studies to the general public, organises exhibitions, supports museums, and also endows three annual prizes for young scholars and artists, the Sir Denis Mahon Essay Prize, the Mahon Award, a drawing prize at The Royal Drawing School, and the Sir Denis Mahon Sculptural Project Grant in collaboration with City & Guilds of London Art School.
RESIDENT ARTIST
The Holy Family, 2022
Oil on canvas
170 cm x 200 cm
The Sir Denis Mahon Foundation is pleased to host Artists in Virtual Residence, presenting a selected single work of an artist every three months.
This month we are delighted to show The Holy Family, a work by Francesco Gonzales.
SPOTLIGHT
Guercino at the Villa Ludovisi
Sir Denis Mahon’s pre-eminent scholarship on Guercino has been enhanced by the publication of a special edition of the journal, Storia dell’Arte, focussing on the artist’s work at the Villa Ludovisi in Rome. Coordinated by Daniele Benati, Barbara Ghelfi and Raffaella Morselli, alongside the Universities of Bologna and Teramo, the edition brings together important new avenues of research, featuring startling revelations on the historical and material aspects of Guercino’s work for the Ludovisi family.
The edition is introduced by an appraisal of the works by Alessandro Zuccari, which acts as a preamble to new research. The study reveals the results of new technical imaging, and presents an investigation into the history of Guercino’s undertaking of these works, as they relate to his encounters with other artists at the time.
SUPPORT
In the picture: a graphic composition by the artist Leonardo Passeri (born 1982) showing a detail of “Saint Roch giving Alms” by Annibale Carracci (1587-1595) in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany.
Please consider making a one-off donation to The Sir Denis Mahon Foundation and its activities.
We are a registered charity and all donations, of whatever size, would directly support our educational and exhibition programmes.
See here.
PAST EVENTS
TIME {𝜏} AND ETERNAL LIFE
5 October – 20 December 2020
The exhibition spans over five millennia, exploring the concept of time and of Eternal life from Antiquity to the Modern Era. This immense period is divided into three chapters, each a chronological step forward.
WILLIAM BLAKE AT FLAT TIME HOUSE
30 January - 8 March 2020
Organised by Flat Time House in partnership with the Sir Denis Mahon Foundation, and curated by Chris McCabe and Magnus Rena, the exhibition gave a unique opportunity to view Blake’s work in the domestic environment of John Latham’s home.
LUCRETIA CANTATA AT THE BOWES MUSEUM
13 November 2019
The Sir Denis Mahon Foundation was delighted to support The Bowes Museum on the occasion of their exhibition, The Power and the Virtue : Guido Reni’s Death of Lucretia (26 October 2019 – 20 January 2020), which highlights the theme of female beauty in Reni’s painting, particularly the depiction of devotional and legendary heroines such as Cleopatra, Saint Catherine, Saint Mary Magdalene, and specifically the suicide of Lucretia Romana.
VISIONARIES AND THE ART OF PERFORMANCE
28 June - 14 July 2019
Through the work of several artists, the exhibition suggests that visionary qualities are not exclusive to one period or personality, but they are enduring characteristics of artistic creativity.
VISIONS & VISIONARIES
11 December 2018 - 30 April 2019
They made the “visionary” into a poetic manifesto, the germ of an idea that is still relevant in the contemporary world with artists such as Geoffrey Fletcher, John Latham, Grayson Perry, or in art movements like Technomedioevo.
TECHNO MEDIOEVO STUDY DAY
14 June 2018
The Sir Denis Mahon Foundation and Museum of the Order of St John hosted a study day to explore The Language and Meaning of Time in Art & Science. The study day took place following a recent exhibition.
TECHNO MEDIOEVO: AGE OF FUTURE RELOADED
1 March - 16 June 2018
What would the past have been like in the Middle Ages if the future had happened before?
BICE VISCONTI: THE REASSEMBLED PAPERS: DRAWINGS AND SKETCHBOOKS FROM THE GREAT WAR
1 October – 20 November 2017
The exhibition was held during the events in remembrance of the Great War and presented part of the graphic corpus of works by the artist, Bice Visconti (1883-1962), who enrolled as a volunteer in the Italian Red Cross in 1915, working in a field hospital where she recorded moments in the lives of soldiers and medical personnel.
CARAVAGGIO: FASHION AND FABRICS
3 October 2016 – 31 January 2017
This exhibition put a spotlight on the fabrics used during Caravaggio’s time, with a focus on Caravaggio’s painting, The Cardsharps (1594), which was loaned to the museum by the Sir Denis Mahon Foundation. It also provided the opportunity to view ancient textiles and religious vestments from the collections of the Diocese of Novara and the Rubelli Museum in Venice.
OUR SHOP
