Gallery – Page 6 – Special Collections & The Gallery

Object of the Month – Flemish Madonna and Child

Flemish Madonna and Child Statue
painted wood statue
71” x 36” x 22”
17^th century
73.3.1
Gift of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary – Summit, New Jersey

The Madonna and Child was part of a pair of statues that represented St. Godelieve and were carved for the eponymously named abbey in Bruges, Belgium. The sculpture made its way to the United States sometime in the early 20^th century. Documentation shows it was on display in 1933 at the Chicago Progress Exhibition, after which it came into the possession of an art dealer in New York who subsequently donated it to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a Dominican Monastery, in 1963. In 1965, the statue was accepted into the Seton Hall University Collections. From 1994 until 2016, the statue was installed in the Art Center until being moved to its present location in the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center.

Exhibit Features Artists in Dialogue with Science

Strange Attractors

January 14 – March 8, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, January 25, 6pm to 8pm

Charcoal drawing on paper — Linda Francis, Threes

The Walsh Gallery is pleased to present Strange Attractors, a group exhibition conceived as an extension of a symposium hosted at New York City’s CUE Art Foundation in November 2017. Organized by artist and writer Taney Roniger, the symposium, also called Strange Attractors, examined interdisciplinary approaches to art-making with an emphasis on how visual art can generate insight into subjects studied by other fields. Co-curated by Taney Roniger and Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile, the exhibition aims to resume the dialogue in visual form by featuring work by many of the conference participants. The participating artists are: Suzanne Anker, Gianluca Bianchino, Catherine Chalmers, Linda Francis, Lorrie Fredette, Michael Hadley & Elaine Reynolds, Daniel Hill, Ed Kerns, Eve Andrée Laramée, Matthew Ritchie, Taney Roniger, Leonard Shapiro and Werner Sun.

While drawing on the strengths of different systems of knowledge, Strange Attractors celebrates nature and its infinitely interdisciplinary characteristics. In conjunction with the exhibition, a panel discussion to be held in the gallery will further explore questions raised during the original dialogue (details to be announced). The exhibition has been made possible though the generous support of the Robert Lehman Foundation and the Essex County Arts Council through a re-grant of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.

The Walsh Gallery is open 10:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday—Friday.

Object of the Month: Papal Bull of Pope Paul V (1618) – Translated by Dr. Peter Ahr

Papal bulls, named after the “bulla” or seal used to authenticate them, are decrees made by popes. Pope Paul V, member of an Italian noble family who is best known for persecuting Galileo and financing the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, served as pope from 1605-1621. His April 1, 1618 decree begins with the proclamation of Pope Paul II (1464-1471)—included in full as the earlier decree required it—regarding corruption in the alienation of church property by sale or gift. It was believed that property given to the church was a gift to God and could not legitimately be given to anyone else. This was a particularly complicated issue in the medieval world, as many bishops and Church institutions were also feudal lords. This decree centers on the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul in Ospedaletto Lodigiano, belonging to the Hieronymite order, and the sale one of its properties near the Swiss border. Ultimately, Pope Paul V delegated the decision to a local official.

The decree was translated by Dr. Peter Ahr, with assistance from Dr. Michael Mascio and Dr. Fred Booth of Seton Hall University, and Reverend Dr. Federico Gallo, Director of the Library at Dottore della Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan.

Object of the Month: Roman Coin from the age of Caesar Augustus (27 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.)

This hammered silver coin was made during the reign of Caesar Augustus (27 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.), the first Roman emperor. He spearheaded the transformation of Rome from a republic to an empire through military strength and governing. The chariot and laurel wreath symbolize this military success, while the robes represent those worn by highly ranked government officials called consuls. This coin is from a distinguished collection of Etruscan and Greco-Roman antiquities, including over 400 coins, donated by alumnus Ronald D’Argenio (MS ‘76/JD ’79).