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Posted by Stan Parchin Jul 20, 2008 |
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee is the next venue for Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art (February 13-June 7, 2009). The exhibition was previously on view at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, Germany (May 11-September 16, 2007) and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008).
Medieval Treasures... features more than 120 examples of armor, carved ivories, enamels, gold and silver decorative works, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and sculptures from the 3rd through 16th Centuries. Arranged chronologically and by place of origin, the works illustrate the historical progression of Late Antique, Early Christian, Byzantine and Western European art during the Middle Ages.
Highlights of the Exhibition
- The Jonah Marbles (ca. 270-280) are four statuettes that depict the Old Testament narrative of the prophet Jonah having been swallowed and regurgitated by a sea monster, a story believed by many to be symbolic of Jesus Christ's death, entombment and resurrection.
- Icon of the Virgin and Child (500-600) is a rare surviving early Byzantine tapestry.
- The Guelph Treasure from a medieval German church includes the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude (ca. 1045). Its combination of royal and religious figures represents Gertrude's attempt to justify the imperial aspirations of her dynasty.
- Three strikingly realistic alabaster Mourners (1406-1410) were created for the celebrated tomb of Philip the Bold, the Valois Duke of Burgundy (r. 1363-1404).
- The melancholic Saint Lawrence (ca. 1502) was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider, arguably the most profound sculptor of northern Europe during the Late Middle Ages.