'A Particular Beauty' at San Antonio's McNay puts old works in new light

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the McNay Art Museum, home to more than 22,000 works of art, which fit largely within the framework of the European “canon.” However, the show “A Particular Beauty” highlights narratives and asks questions that have often been excluded from art-historical discourse. The exhibition presents a small but considered selection of 19th century French prints, paintings and drawings from the museum’s permanent collection and shows them in a new light, using the works to reflect on a broad range of topics spanning ecocriticism, race, disability studies and other issues.