The Frist Center for the Visual Arts Shows Northern Renaissance Paintings

Written by Christopher Cantrell Friday, 20 January 2012 23:47

Nashville TN.- A selection of magnificent Northern Renaissance paintings from an often overlooked collection will be on exhibition in the Frist Center for the Visual Arts’ Upper-Level Galleries.  "A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from the Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery" features 28 paintings from 15th- and 16th-century Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The exhibition is conceived as an intimate encounter with the devotional art of the Renaissance and explores the way in which 15th- and 16th-century Northern European painters expressed the central mysteries of the Christian faith through setting, pose, gesture and the objects of everyday life. These paintings, which are part of a collection better known for its grand Baroque pictures, have been little studied since their acquisition in the mid-20th century. Since that time, considerable advances have been made in analytical methods and connoisseurship of Northern Renaissance paintings and additional archival research has been undertaken. "A Divine Light" is on view now at the Frist.

This exhibition presents the examples in the Bob Jones Collection in light of this recent research. Prior to the exhibition, the Frist Center sponsored the conservation of four key works, including, most importantly a beguiling Flemish picture known as the "Madonna of the Fireplace", which was attributed to the Master of Flèmalle when it was part of the Cook Collection in England during the 19th century. Its conservation and publication in color in the catalogue will allow specialists to become newly acquainted with this work and to reconsider its attribution, iconography and historical significance. The cleaning and restoration of all four paintings was conducted in the New York laboratory of noted paintings conservator David Bull.  “Very few people seem to be aware that Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery has this treasure trove of rare and beautiful Northern Renaissance paintings,” said Frist Center Associate Curator Trinita Kennedy, organizer of the exhibition.  “Our goal is to make these works better known to a wider audience and invite appreciation and study in light of the recent research in the field.  Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in London and many of the world’s major museums will see similarities in the works we are presenting here in Nashville.  We hope people will take this opportunity to see how the works from the Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery relate to works in those more familiar collections.” Dr. Bob Jones, Jr., founder of the museum, collected only religious art and had a strong preference for images of the Virgin and Child, the Holy Family, the Passion and the Holy Face of Christ. This exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to focus attention on developments in alter pieces and devotional paintings during the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery is recognized as having one of America’s finest collections of Old Master paintings and is well known for its thorough presentation of the development of Western culture through these works. Located in Greenville, S.C., and housed on the campus of Bob Jones University, the Museum & Gallery displays Italian, Spanish, French, English, Flemish, Dutch and German sacred art from the 14th through the 19th century.  Works by major artists such as Rubens, van Dyck, Reni and Tintoretto are exhibited with period furniture, sculpture, tapestries and porcelains to give visitors a panoramic view of artistic developments. Today, 50 years after its inauguration, the collection comprises more than 400 paintings by the Old Masters, nearly 200 pieces of Gothic to 19th-century furniture, approximately 100 works of sculpture, 60 textiles, nearly 50 drawings and prints, more than 1,000 Biblical artifacts and 130 miscellaneous items ranging from stained glass windows to a Byzantine baptistery font.

The Frist Center opened in April 2001, and since that time has hosted a spectacular array of art from the region, the country, and around the world. Unlike any traditional museum you’ve ever visited, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts has become a magnet for Nashville’s rapidly expanding visual arts scene. With an exhibitions schedule that has new art flowing through the magnificent Art Deco building every 6 to 8 weeks, no matter how often you visit, there is always something new and exciting to see in the spacious galleries. The Frist Center was conceived as a family-friendly place and one of the most popular locations in the center is the innovative Martin ArtQuest Gallery. It’s a colorful space alive with the sounds of learning through making art! ArtQuest activities abound for people of all ages. With 30 interactive stations, and the assistance of knowledgeable staff and volunteers, ArtQuest teaches through activity. Make a print, paint your own original watercolor, create your own colorful sculpture! It’s all there in ArtQuest, and it’s free with gallery admission for adults and always free for youth 18 and under. Visit the center's website at ... www.fristcenter.org.

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