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The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe
A fascinating exploration of the visual culture of mortality in Renaissance Europe
We often imagine the Renaissance as an age of exceptional human progress and artistic achievement. But, intriguingly, macabre images proliferated in precisely this unsettling depictions of Death personified, of decaying bodies, of young lovers struck down in their prime. These morbid themes run riot in the remarkable array of artworks featured in The Ivory Mirror . Nearly 200 illustrated artworks—from ivory prayer beads to gem-encrusted jewelry to exquisitely carved small sculptures—present us with an aspect of this era that is at once darker and more familiar than we might have expected. Focused on the challenge of making choices in an increasingly complex and uncertain world, Renaissance artists turned to poignant, often macabre imagery to address the critical human concern of acknowledging death, while striving to create a personal legacy that might outlast it. The essays gathered here discuss the development and significance of this transformative art of the past, while exploring themes that are still relevant how does one navigate the implicit tension between mortality and morality and seek to balance individual pleasure with the pursuit of a greater good?
Distributed for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Exhibition Bowdoin College Museum of Art
(06/24/17–11/26/17)
We often imagine the Renaissance as an age of exceptional human progress and artistic achievement. But, intriguingly, macabre images proliferated in precisely this unsettling depictions of Death personified, of decaying bodies, of young lovers struck down in their prime. These morbid themes run riot in the remarkable array of artworks featured in The Ivory Mirror . Nearly 200 illustrated artworks—from ivory prayer beads to gem-encrusted jewelry to exquisitely carved small sculptures—present us with an aspect of this era that is at once darker and more familiar than we might have expected. Focused on the challenge of making choices in an increasingly complex and uncertain world, Renaissance artists turned to poignant, often macabre imagery to address the critical human concern of acknowledging death, while striving to create a personal legacy that might outlast it. The essays gathered here discuss the development and significance of this transformative art of the past, while exploring themes that are still relevant how does one navigate the implicit tension between mortality and morality and seek to balance individual pleasure with the pursuit of a greater good?
Distributed for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Exhibition Bowdoin College Museum of Art
(06/24/17–11/26/17)
- GenresArt
280 pages, Hardcover
Published September 19, 2017
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July 14, 2018
Excellent. I learned a lot. Highly recommended.
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