In this opening lecture, exhibition curators Esther Bell and Lara Yeager-Crasselt present An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection. Exploring Aso O. Tavitian's remarkable legacy as a collector in the twenty-first century, as well as the collection's extraordinary depth and breadth, the exhibition highlights the pivotal intersections of early modern European artistic traditions. In a moment marked by tremendous historical changes, early modern artists produced works of great creativity and complexity.

Image: Wallerant Vaillant, Self-Portrait in a Turban (detail), 1675-77, oil on canvas. The Clark, Gift of Aso O. Tavitian Foundation, 2025.1.63