Exhibit of Vatican pieces explores religious iconography over the years

Treasure Coast Palm News
February 11, 2011

"The Holy Family with Two Angels,"
a 16th-century oil on canvas from Bologna, Italy.

FLORIDA-- Just a short drive from the Treasure Coast, at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, is a treasure trove of religious iconography. "Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through Faith and Art" will be at the museum through April 24. Many of the 200 pieces in the exhibit have never been on display nor left the confines of the Vatican. Syncopated by Gregorian chants and what sounds to be angels caroling on high, a darkened cavern of rooms tells a part of the story of Christianity through paintings, reliquaries, statuaries, vestments, documents and carvings. The exhibit includes works by Michelangelo, Bernini, Giotto and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri. The exhibit is an opportunity for people to view an enormously important artistic and historic collection, museum Executive Director Irvin Lippman said. [link]

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Polish Great Dies: Jerzy Nowosielski

The National News
February 21, 2011

POLAND--Jerzy Nowosielski, one of Poland’s most famous artists, has died in Krakow, his native town, after a long illness at the age of 88. Nowosielski gained particular renown for his religious works – wall paintings, iconostases and polychromes in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in many Polish towns, as well as the Greco-Catholic Church in Lourdes, France. In addition to Polish museums, his portraits, landscapes, still lifes and abstract works are in many private collections in the United States, Canada and many European countries. [link]

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Jan Gossaert at the National Gallery, review

The Telegraph
February 21, 2011

"Adam and Eve" (1520)

UNITED KINGDOM--Danish painter, Jan Gossaert’s ability to humanise characters from the Bible and mythology is of a piece with the way he was able to enter imaginatively into the lives of the men, women and children whose portraits he painted.  In his superb Adam and Eve, on loan from the Royal Collection,  Gossaert tells a story that had not been represented in art before. He shows the moment after Adam took his first bite of the apple and it stuck in his throat – his Adam’s apple. Rolling his eyes in panic he puts one finger to his mouth as though trying to gag it out. The source of his misery is the apple, still with his teeth marks, that Eve holds in one hand before taking a bite with her sensuous, greedy mouth. Note how Gossaert pins the blame for man’s downfall on the woman. Entering imaginatively into the story, he humanises these familiar types, giving them individual personalities, like a novelist creating fictional characters. His exhibition at London's National Gallery is entitled, "Jan Gossaert's Renaissance." [link]

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New Bible is work of art 'for eternity'

Des Moines Register
February 18, 2011

"Saint John's Bible"

IOWA--The first handwritten Bible commissioned in more than 500 years has earned high praise since a team of Welsh calligraphers started the project in 1998. Pope Benedict called it "a great work of art . . . for eternity." The Smithsonian described it as "one of the extraordinary undertakings of our time." Iowans will have a chance to see for themselves when prints from the so-called Saint John's Bible, named for the Minnesota university and Benedictine monastery that commissioned it, go on display Monday at the Polk County Heritage Gallery. [link]

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Gay couple denied entrance to Creation Museum event

Louisville Courier
February 20, 2011

KENTUCKY -- A Date Night event at the Creation Museum in Petersburg was disrupted when a same-sex couple was denied entry. While accounts differ, what is clear is that a man who planned to enter the Feb. 11 event with a male friend was told the two would not be allowed to enter. Additionally, they did not receive a refund of the $71.90 cost for the two tickets they had purchased online. [link]

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Christians work behind the scenes in Hollywood

Worldnet Daily
February 21, 2011

CALIFORNIA -- Ministry leaders from New York City and Germany, scriptwriters from Wisconsin and New Zealand, representatives from as far away as Hong Kong and Japan were gathered with Hollywood insiders – and those who simply appreciate the power of cinema – at the Universal City Hilton outside Los Angeles to pray in preparation for Moveguide's 19th Annual Awards Gala and Report to the Industry. The event marked more than two decades of prayer and hard work by Movieguide – since its inception in 1985 – to re-instill Christian values and faith-friendly messages into the movies. In his organization's 80-page statistical analysis and report to the entertainment industry, Dr. Ted Baehr, founder of MovieGuide and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, gave evidence of the transformation he's been praying for. [link]

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'Crossroads' unearthed at Boston College

Milford Daily News
February 21, 2011

Zeus Kyrios-Baalshamin, Dura-Europos, M8/N7, Temple of Zeus Kyrios, ca. 31 CE. Limestone, 52.0 × 35.0 × 9.0 cm. Yale University Art Gallery, Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos, 1935.45

MASSACHUSETTS -- Around 165 A.D., Christians, Jews and pagans lived and worshiped side by side in a cosmopolitan city called Dura-Europos by the Euphrates River on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Located in modern-day Syria, it housed a Roman military garrison of more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians whose lives reflected the hopes and dangers of those uncertain times. Through serendipity and determined archaeology, the city has come alive again through a remarkable exhibition at the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College. Organized by the McMullen and Yale University Art Gallery, "Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity" opens a thrilling window into a multicultural society through fascinating artifacts of great beauty and historical significance. [link]

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