The Art Institute of Chicago

It's similar to moving a flashlight around an object in order to reveal details about its contours and surface. Reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) is a photography method that records an object’s surface shape and color through a series of images, each one lit from a slightly different angle. See this revelatory process in action with mesmerizing video loops that illustrate its application. Read "To the Naked Eye: Using RTI to Reveal the Hidden" at the link in our bio.

See "Cezanne"—a major retrospective critics are calling a "magnificent" and "groundbreaking" summer blockbuster—now on view at the Art Institute. Find tickets and more info at the link in our bio.

"Cezanne" is now open at the Art Institute! Explore an extraordinary breadth of works, illuminating the pioneering trail Paul Cezanne set for generations of artists to come. Learn more and buy tickets at the link in our bio.

"A frame can really make or break a painting." Our conservation and curatorial teams share the fascinating story of the reframing effort of Seurat's masterpiece "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884." Learn more about the reframing efforts in the article "'La Grande Jatte,' Frame by Frame." (Link in bio) Supported by @bankofamerica and @bloombergdotorg

"Drawing is the way to see what I’m thinking. All one needs is something to make a mark and a surface to make the mark on." Now open at the Art Institute, "Mel Bochner Drawings: A Retrospective" demonstrates the artist's pioneering role in redefining the traditional boundaries of drawing, presenting thought-provoking work over the course of a career that has spanned nearly six decades. Learn more at the link in our bio.

In our latest episode of Playing Favorites, Kit Shields, assistant editor in Publishing, discusses Narcissa Niblack Thorne’s miniature rooms and how her father’s own furniture building drew her to this extraordinary example of ingenuity and craftsmanship. Collaborating with a group of skilled Chicago artisans, Thorne meticulously designed, furnished, and lit each of the 68 Thorne Miniature Rooms in the Art Institute’s collection. She designed the rooms during the Colonial Revival movement, a moment that expressed an invented American identity rooted almost exclusively in the Atlantic coast. The video is part of our Playing Favorites series, in which Art Institute of Chicago staff share their favorite works from the collection.

Sometimes a work of art invites us to see the beauty in ourselves. Kyla Thomas, manager of distribution operations, recalls encountering this bust of a black woman on a high school trip and the tremendous pull it had on her and her friends. The video is part of our Playing Favorites series, in which Art Institute of Chicago staff share their favorite works from the collection.

Discovered on the sea floor off the coast of Athens, this marble relief dates from nearly 2,000 years ago. Collection manager Liz Benge draws on her love for the sea and her experience in underwater archaeology to tell the story of this heroic Greek warrior from the ancient world. This video is part of the Playing Favorites series, in which Art Institute of Chicago staff share their favorite works from the collection.

"A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" is back on view! Get a quick glimpse of the monumental project of preparing and fitting Georges Seurat's beloved painting with a new brighter, whiter frame that is closer to the artist's original vision for his work.

Sometimes a work of art can invite us to slow down and look more carefully at the world around us. In this episode of Playing Favorites, Thomas Huston, a technician in both Architecture and Design and Modern and Contemporary, shares his sense of wonder at Robert Gober’s “Untitled,” 1998/2004. This video is part of the Playing Favorites series, in which Art Institute of Chicago staff share their favorite works from the collection.

Thanks to @timeoutchicago critics for choosing the Art Institute as "Best Museum" in their 2021 Best of the City Awards and to locals for voting us "Chicago's most-loved attraction" in the Love Local Awards. Illinois residents enjoy FREE museum admission—every weekday now through March 17. See some of the world's most beloved works of art and discover new favorites along the way.

Celadon, or green-glazed, stoneware is one of the greatest achievements of Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Join us as we take a closer look at an extraordinary example in "Vase (Maebyong) with Clouds, Flying Cranes, and Children amid Bamboo"—the latest episode of our Art Institute Essentials series.