Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600-1600
September 8 through January 6, 2008
Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600-1600 opens to the public on Saturday, September 8. The exhibit is presented in cooperation with UT’s Marco Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Fall 2007 has been designated the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Semester, and this exhibition is one of the centerpieces of the interdisciplinary program.
The exhibition of artworks from five world religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism – will present beliefs, practices, and cultural traditions reflected by artists from the time of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. All these religions had carved out places for themselves by the 7th century CE, but no region became exclusively or completely the domain of any one creed. The millennium of the exhibit was marked by ebbs and flows of the five faiths, and by contact of the adherents of different faiths with each other. The works include statuary and objects of stone, bronze, silver, gold, ivory and wood; illustrated scriptures and other written works; glass; and textiles. The diverse expressions of religious faith originated in Europe, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, Nepal, Tibet, and China. A mini-catalogue will accompany the exhibit, sponsored by Bank of America.
In assembling the objects, the Museum consulted with UT faculty members in art, history, and religious studies. We are grateful to Dr. Amy Neff, Dr. James Fitzgerald, Dr. Rosalind Gwynne, Dr. Miriam Levering, Dr. Gilya Gerda Schmidt, Dr. Rachelle Scott, and Dr. Robert Bast, Director of the Marco Institute.
The Museum thanks also the lenders to the exhibition: Asia Society, New York; Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection, New York; The Textile Museum, Washington, DC; Zimmerman LP Collection, New York; and three private collections.
Sponsors of Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600-1600 are the Lucille S. Thompson Family Foundation, the Aletha and Clayton Brodine Museum Fund, Marco Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and the Leon Levy Foundation.
Shiva as Lord of the Dance
(Shiva Nataraja)
Copper alloy
India, Tamil Nadu; Chola period, 12th century CE
Height 29 1/4 in. (74.3 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection; 1979.29
Photograph by Susumu Wakisaka, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo
St. Margaret
Stained glass and pot metal
English (?), 14th century CE
Length 19 in; width 8 3/4 in. (48.3 x 22.2 cm)
Courtesy of Loyola University Museum of Art
Martin D’Arcy S. J. Collection, Chicago, Illinois (77.10)