Holy Beauty: Northern Renaissance Prints Discovered in an Early English Bible
February 10 – April 29, 2018
Study Gallery, Print Study Center and the Maribeth Collins Lobby
Organized by Professor Ricardo De Mambro Santos, the exhibition features as its centerpiece the Hexham Abbey Bible, a rare 17th-century English Bible printed in Cambridge, England in 1629. The Bible includes 110 16th-century Dutch and Flemish prints that were interpolated into the volume after it was printed.
Prints within the Bible include works attributed to Philip Galle (Dutch, 1537-1612), after Maarten van Heemskerck (Dutch, 1498-1574); Hieronymus Cock (Flemish, 1518-1579), Jan Sadeler (Flemish, 1550-1600), and Maerten de Vos (Flemish, 1532-1603), among others.
The Bible recently came to light when it was purchased by Bruce Martin, President of Historic Bibles & Engravings in Albany, Oregon, who contacted Professor De Mambro Santos to learn more about his intriguing discovery.
Bruce Martin says, "What makes this particular Bible remarkable is that it represents the only known English Bible with engravings dating from the 16th century."
The Bible has been dubbed "The Hexham Abbey Bible" due to internal evidence that links the creation of the Bible to George Ritschel, Sr., who was a Lutheran turned Anglican, and a lecturer at Hexham Abbey in Northumberland, UK.
Visitors will have an opportunity to scroll through the Bible via touch screens in the Study Gallery. In addition, the exhibition will include 35 16th-century Dutch and Flemish prints—some like those found in the Bible and others of the period—on view in the Print Study Center and the Maribeth Collins Lobby.
Online Exhibition Catalogue
Related Events
Lecture
Touching Heavens: Moral Interpretations of Religious Themes in Northern Renaissance Art
Ricardo De Mambro Santos
Professor, Art History, Willamette University
Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 5 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
Free and open to the public
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Members Opening Reception
Saturday, February 10, 2018, 6 - 8 p.m.
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Members and museum invited guests only
Cost
Museum members and museum invited guests: complimentary
New Members: are welcome to join at the event or online
Or by phone at 503-370-6855 or by email at museum-art@willamette.edu
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Tuesday Gallery Talk
February 27, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.
Join docents at the museum for a guided tour of the exhibition. Tours commence at 12:30 p.m. in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the museum.
Free and open to the public
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Lecture
Contentious Faith and Heroic Art in the Low Countries Around 1600
Jeffrey Chipps Smith
Professor, Art History, University of Texas, Austin
Wednesday, February 28, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
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Tuesday Gallery Talk
March 6, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.
Join docents at the museum for a guided tour of the exhibition. Tours commence at 12:30 p.m. in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the museum.
Free and open to the public
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Film
The Mill and the Cross
A film by Lech Majewski, starring Rutger Hauer, Charlotte Rampling, and Michael York
(Poland, 2011, color, 95 minutes)
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
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Tuesday Gallery Talk
March 13, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.
Join docents at the museum for a guided tour of the exhibition. Tours commence at 12:30 p.m. in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the museum.
Free and open to the public
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Lecture
Holy Beauty or Unholy Marriage? Discovery, Provenance, and Socio-Theological Musings on the Hexham Abbey Bible
Bruce T. Martin
Independent scholar and theologian
President, Historic Bibles & Engravings, Albany, Oregon
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
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Tuesday Gallery Talk
March 27, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.
Join docents at the museum for a guided tour of the exhibition. Tours commence at 12:30 p.m. in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the museum.
Free and open to the public
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Lecture
Paintings and Prints: The Fortune of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement” in Late Sixteenth Century Art
Alessandra Baroni
Professor, Art History, University of Rochester and Università di Arezzo, Italy
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
Financial Support
Financial support for the exhibition, lectures, and film presentation have been provided by funds from the Verda Karen McCracken Young Art Exhibition Fund of the Department of Art History at Willamette University, and by general operating support grants from the City of Salem's Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.
