Lecture series to explore the smaller museums of Europe

Building on two previous lecture series that examined great art museums in Europe and America, art historian James W. Grebl, Ph.D., will present a new series of four lavishly illustrated lectures to explore lesser-known European art museums on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 20 and 27 and Oct. 4 and 11 at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla.

These gems, chosen for their remarkable art masterpieces as well as their impressive architecture, represent some of the best art museums of Europe that don’t appear on every tourist’s must-see list.

The collections viewed will range from medieval to contemporary art, and the buildings housing them run the gamut from venerable to ultramodern. Each presentation will weave together the history, design, and art treasures of these irreplaceable cultural institutions.

Series tickets are $40 members, $60 nonmembers. Individual lectures cost $12 for members, $17 for nonmembers. Reservations can be made at (858) 454-5872 or www.ljathenaeum.org/lectures.

The lectures include:

• Sept. 20: Wallace Collection (London), Burrell Collection (Glasgow), Cluny and Marmottan museums (Paris), Museé des Arts asiatiques (Nice) and possibly others.

• Sept. 27: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (near Copenhagen), the Kröller-Müller Museum (near Apeldoorn, Netherlands), the Horta Museum (Brussels) and the Beyeler Foundation (near Basel).

• Oct. 4: Museum Frieder Burda (Baden-Baden), Städel Museum (Frankfort am Main) and the Academy of Fine Arts and Secession Hall (Vienna).

• Oct. 11: Picasso Museum (Málaga), Thyssen Bornemisza Museum (Madrid), Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice) and MAXXI — the National Museum of XXI Century Art (Rome).