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Tickets available Thursday for rare Italian art show at Michener Museum

45 Renaissance and Baroque works will be on display in Doylestown starting April 21 on a four-stop U.S. tour. It's their first showing outside Europe.

Tickets will go on sale Thursday for Offering of the Angels, an exhibit from the renowned Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy, that is expected to draw 250,000 visitors to the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown.

The exhibit of 45 paintings and tapestries by Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Il Parmigianino, and Lorenzo Monaco will run April 21 through Aug. 10. The works, spanning nearly 400 years, are being shown outside Europe for the first time, with the Michener Museum the only stop in the Northeast on the four-city U.S. tour.

The paintings include Madonna and Child (circa 1466-67), which reveals the spirit and lyricism that Botticelli is known for. One of the earliest works is Monaco's The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John and Mary Magdalene (circa 1395-1400), with its pious figures and gilt background that are a hallmark of the Late Gothic style.  Luca Giordano (1634-1705), a leading figure of the Late Baroque period, is represented by Climb to Calvary (1685-1686), depicting an emotional encounter on Christ's ascent to his crucifixion.

Three large and elaborate tapestries from the 16th century depict scenes from the life of Christ, including The Last Supper, The Descent from the Cross and the Resurrection.

The show will be the Michener's first major traveling exhibition of European art, and the museum has appointed two consulting curators, Marcia Hall of Temple University and Diane Cole Ahl of Lafayette College.

Timed tickets will be available on the museum's website, www.MichenerArtMuseum.org, and by calling 1-800-595-4849. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $11 for college students and $7.50 for children ages 6 through 18. Admission is free for members and children under 6.

A free audio tour will highlight individual works, and the museum will offer a series of lectures, with the $15 charge including a ticket for the exhibit.

For the exhibit, the museum, at 138 South Pine St., will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m., Sunday.

For more information, go to the website or call 215-340-9800.