Long established and leading art, antiques and jewelry specialist M.S. Rau Antiques will present Innocence, Temptation and Power: The Evolution of Women in Art from March 27–May 4, 2015 at the M.S. Rau Gallery in New Orleans. Organized by recognized expert in 18th and 19th century fine art, art patron and owner of M.S. Rau, William Rau, the exhibition will include more than forty notable works, many of which will be exhibited for the first time, by fine art masters including William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Jean-Leon Gerome, Henri Matisse, Berthe Morisot, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Norman Rockwell, among others. The exhibition will trace the evolving representation of women and the female body, archetypes of ideal beauty and model behavior, and the interplay between art and society.

Rau’s extensive knowledge in the field and his understanding of the international art market has not only allowed him to help clients cultivate museum quality fine art collections, but has also afforded him the opportunity to amass the remarkable and important works in this comprehensive exhibition.

"With this second thematic exhibition at M.S. Rau, I am excited to present several important paintings by 18th and 19th century fine art masters for the first time and to invite a deeper examination of the evolving representation of women in art and society,“ said, Founder, CEO and President of M.S Rau, Bill Rau.

Innocence, Temptation and Power follows M.S. Rau’s 2012 exhibition entitled Impressionism: Influences & Impact, a presentation of more than 45 significant works of art by world-renowned Impressionist artists, including paintings spanning the pre-Impressionist through post-Impressionist movements, by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot and others. These works, many of which belonged to private collectors, had never before been exhibited to the public. Art history scholars, Michelle Foa, Assistant Professor of Art History at Tulane University and Lisa Rotondo-McCord, Assistant Director of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, presented lectures at the M.S. Rau Gallery during the exhibition on the topic of Impressionism.