THE DAHESH MUSEUM OF ART SYMPOSIUM
They Who Gathered Much: Artists, Audiences,
and Collectors of Biblical Imagery
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014 at MOBIA
Organized in conjunction with Sacred Visions: Nineteenth-Century Biblical Art from the Dahesh Museum Collection, on view at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), this symposium will interrogate the intersection of two dramatic shifts in nineteenth-century culture. The first is the reconfiguring of biblical representation amid shifts in Bible historicism and the second is the emerging markets for buying, selling, and exhibiting biblical art amid a rise of a new middle-class art patronage. In America as well as in Europe, patronage contributed to expanding a religious repertoire for romantic or topographical subjects and it was a distinct factor in shaping how artists understood biblical subjects.
Four distinguished scholars of nineteenth-century art history will present important research material at what will be a fascinating day for our audience.
The Symposium is free and open to the public. Registration is suggested but not required. To register, please call (212) 759-0606 or email info@ daheshmuseum.org, and include “Symposium” in the subject line. You may also register at MOBIA the morning of the event.
This Symposium is organized by the Dahesh Museum of Art in conjunction with the Museum of Biblical Art.
Morning Session
10:00 AM Registration and Coffee
10:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr. David Farmer, Director, Dahesh Museum of Art
Richard P. Townsend, Director, Museum of Biblical Art
10:45 -10:55 Introduction To The Topic And Speakers
11:00 – 11:20 Dr. Virginia Raguin, College of the Holy Cross
A Post-Modern Review of Artistic Criteria: The Copy, the Tradition, the Audience
11:20 – 11:40 Dr. Joyce C. Polistena, Pratt Institute
Eugène Delacroix Paints “Modern” Biblical History
11:40 – 11:55 Coffee and Tea Break
12:00 – 12:20 Dr. Kate Nichols, University of Cambridge
Poynter’s Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, from London to Sydney, via Jerusalem, Greece, Rome, Egypt and India
12:20 – 12:30 All Panelists and Audience Q&A
12:30 – 2:15 Lunch On Your Own (a list of local restaurants will be provided)
Sacred Visions will be open for viewing
Afternoon Session
2:15 – 2:25 Introduction To Topic And Speakers
2:25 – 2:45 Dr. Laura Morowitz, Wagner College
A ‘Sermon in Paint’: The Twenty-Third Street Tabernacle and the Passion Scenes of Mihály Munkáscy
2:45 – 3:05 Discussant Dr. Jessica Basciano, University of Ottawa
3:05 – 3:30 Discussion among the Panelists, Followed by Q & A with the Audience
3:35 – 3:55 Summary
Sarah C. Schaefer, Mellon Fellow, Metropolitan Museum of Art
3:55 – 4:00 Concluding Remarks
Dr. David Farmer, Director, Dahesh Museum of Art
4:00 Reception
