Two sweeping new exhibitions at the Taubman Museum of Art explore what art can teach us about history.

“From Picasso to Magritte: European Masters from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts” spans 150 years of European art history, showcasing samples from the likes of Eugene Delacroix, Georges Seurat, Henri Toulous-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Rene Magritte, August Rodin and more.

“Making American Taste: Narrative Art for Nineteenth Century Audiences” gathers American painting and sculpture, focusing on the the period from 1825 to 1870, to show how artists shaped the story of America. The exhibit includes portraits of George Washington, Civil War battle scenes, depictions of Native Americans and slaves, and everyday life on the farm.

Though both shows have already opened, the official members-only reception take place tonight. The museum has opened two other new exhibitions, “Motomichi Nakamura: Crypto-animation” and “The Great Road: Contemporary Wood-fired Ceramics.” A fifth exhibition, “FOR Instance: the Art of Martin Johnson,” opens Saturday, though Richmond artist Johnson will be at the Taubman tonight to speak about his work.

At first glance the shows seem wildly diverse. Nakamura is a Japanese artist who creates animated monsters, while Johnson is known for playful abstract assemblages. “The Great Road” shows the influence of English and Asian pottery in the work of modern regional ceramics artists.

But the shows all have in common an emphasis on storytelling, said Amy Moorefield, the Taubman’s deputy director of exhibitions.

“From Picasso to Magritte,” arranged mostly in chronological order, offers what Moorefield called a “speed tour” of European art movements. Meanwhile, “Making American Taste” takes an in-depth look at how American artists both imitated and rebelled against the European mold on their way to forming a national identity.

“From Picasso to Magritte” represents a few firsts for the museum. It’s the first time a work by Picasso has been shown there, and the first time the Taubman has exhibited a complete exhibition from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

“Here are some of the most extraordinary works in their collection,” Moorefield said. The traveling show was assembled from the VMFA collection by Leila Cartier, curator of the William King Museum in Abingdon.

The exhibition moves rapidly through many different artistic movements, providing quick examples of neoclassicism, impressionism, fauvism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism and more. Many of the pieces are drawings or sketches. The juxtapositions help show how the artists and styles influenced each other, Moorefield said.

To coincide with the show, the Taubman has a second Picasso on display in its resource lounge, loaned by a collector who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Making American Taste,” also a traveling exhibition, was put together by the New-York Historical Society, the oldest museum in New York. The show challenges the common perception that American artists were primarily interested in depictions of rural life, though several examples of such pieces are included.

Art aficionados with a yen for traditional painting will find it in droves in “Making American Taste.” The show is divided into six parts, beginning with examples of classical European inspiration, such as works drawn from Greek mythology by colonial American-born painter Benjamin West. The first section also includes one of the first paintings of a female nude ever exhibited in the U.S., “Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos” by John Vanderlyn, which scandalized audiences in the early 1800s.

Other sections include how artists shaped the views of American history, illustrations from literature, idealized scenes from everyday life, depictions of spirituality, and how white American artists chose to portray “outsiders” such as Native Americans, blacks, or the homeless. The art produced reflects the tastes of the culture that consumed it, with patriotism mingling with nostalgia for old-fashioned European refinement.

Moorefield noted that most of the depictions of historic events were created years after the fact, relying on written accounts and the artist’s imagination. Those include Johannes Adam Simon Oertel’s portrayal of rebels pulling down a statue of King George III in New York and John Gadsby Chapman’s painting of Pocahontas pleading for the life of Capt. John Smith.

The artists often looked to European compositions and styles to idealize their subjects. Also, the artists would embed social messages into their works using references and symbols that would have been obvious to the audience of that day. For example, a painting of St. Nicholas about to climb up the chimney by Robert Walter Weir is filled with symbols that serve as commentary on the politics of 1830s New York.

The Taubman has scheduled a number of free events connected to the two exhibitions.

For “From Picasso to Magritte”:

• April 3, 6:30 p.m.: “Listening to Paintings” with Opera Roanoke General and Artistic Director Scott Williamson
• April 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Spectacular Saturday children and family programming
• April 24, 6:30 p.m., gallery talk by Roanoke College art history professor James Hargrove

For “Making American Taste”:

• March 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Spectacular Saturday children and family programming
• May 8, 6:30 p.m., gallery talk by Virginia Tech art history professor Bailey Van Hook

“Making American Taste” and “The Great Road” close May 17. Nakamura’s exhibition closes May 31, while Johnson’s exhibition and “From Picasso to Magritte” close Aug. 23.

Admission to the Taubman is free. Museum hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; open until 9 p.m. first Friday of each month. For more information call 342-5760 or visit taubmanmuseum.org.

On the Arts Extras blog

Michael Mansfield, curator of film and media arts for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will give a free talk Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. To learn more visit blogs.roanoke.com/arts.