Touched by an angel.

Heavenly light will shine brightly on Jackson as it hosts the only U.S. exhibition of "Between God and Man: Angels in Italian Art" at the Mississippi Museum of Art's new facility beginning June 9.

Through the eyes of stars such as Titian and Fra Filippo Lippi from the Italian Renaissance and Sandro Chia from contemporary times, angels are transformed into the many distinct images that enlighten our perceptions today. These depictions, museum officials say, speak volumes for human interpretations of the divine. "The great accomplishment of artists over the centuries has been to give to these ephemeral creatures concrete, recognizable, and often highly individual identities," says Dan Piersol, the museum's deputy director for programs. "Even though we understand the angel is not human, we know intuitively it understands our own human fears, desires, and thoughts."

In the exhibit, viewers will ascend into this celestial world and witness heavenly attributes, angelic actions, and the holy hierarchy in a variety of mediums. "A show with a distinct focus such as this one allows visitors to gain insight into the changing nature of Italian art as seen through a specific subject, angels," says exhibition curator Francesco Buranelli, who is also the director general of the Vatican Museums.

More than 150 works will be on display. Most of the pieces have never traveled to America and will grace only Jackson before returning to their homes in such prestigious museums as the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence and the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia in Rome. "Because of the quality of the rare works featured, we expect this exhibition to bring the largest number of visitors the museum has had in its history," says museum director Betsy Bradley.

The exhibition's opening coincides with the grand opening of the Museum of Art's newly renovated location, the Mississippi Arts Pavilion. This symbolic "museum without wails" embodies the museum's commitment to being an inviting public space that connects its community with meaningful cultural experiences.

The exhibit, which is the ninth in the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series, will close December 30. For more information, call 601/960-1515 or see www. msmuseumart.org/angels.html.