The Denison University Art Collection

The Denison University Art CollectionAuthor(s): Stephen W. RosenSource: Art Journal, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Winter, 1972-1973), pp. 189-191Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/775740 .

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10. Antonello da Messina, Portrait of a Young Man. Stolen 10-11/5/70. Malaspina Museum, Pavia.

The Denison University Art Collection

Stephen W. Rosen

The relatively unknown Denison Uni- versity Art Collection has made much pro- gress since the clays in the 1940's of scat-

10. Antonello da Messina, Portrait of a Young Man. Stolen 10-11/5/70. Malaspina Museum, Pavia.

The Denison University Art Collection

Stephen W. Rosen

The relatively unknown Denison Uni- versity Art Collection has made much pro- gress since the clays in the 1940's of scat-

STEPHEN ROSEN is Curator of Collections at Denison University. a STEPHEN ROSEN is Curator of Collections at Denison University. a

Model for the Burke Hall of Art and Music, Denison

University. Architects, Perkins and Will, Chicago. Scheduled completion, June 1973.

Model for the Burke Hall of Art and Music, Denison

University. Architects, Perkins and Will, Chicago. Scheduled completion, June 1973.

11. Toulouse-Lautrec, Marcelle. Stolen 27/12/68 from Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Owner Musee d'Albi, France.

tered uncatalogued accumulations. By the early 1960's, the collection, thanks to the generosity of its patrons and the enter- prising work of its staff, had grown suffi- ciently to begin to exhibit on a regular ba- sis, and currently Deuison is lending some of its material to various museums and colleges in addition to maintaining its own self-generating programs. Though small in size, the collection now includes some significant visual materials. The di- rection for the future entails building upon the present Oriental section and continuing to develop and expand in the WVestern and Primitive areas.

At present, the Oriental division includes representative pieces from Burma, China, India, Thailand and Ceylon. The strongest of these is the Burmese section which contains numerous iconographi- cally important Buddha images of various fabrics, gestures and sizes ranging in date from the sixth to the eighteenth century; also rhythmical dancing mats, manuscripts, textiles and colorful lacquer ware. Our most recent Burmese acquisition is the treasured book of Prince Temiya, a 22 foot long, hand-painted narrative cycle Parabiak (Accordion Book), which cap- sulizes in word and picture the serenity and circumstance of Burmese creative ex- pression. With this singularly important

11. Toulouse-Lautrec, Marcelle. Stolen 27/12/68 from Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Owner Musee d'Albi, France.

tered uncatalogued accumulations. By the early 1960's, the collection, thanks to the generosity of its patrons and the enter- prising work of its staff, had grown suffi- ciently to begin to exhibit on a regular ba- sis, and currently Deuison is lending some of its material to various museums and colleges in addition to maintaining its own self-generating programs. Though small in size, the collection now includes some significant visual materials. The di- rection for the future entails building upon the present Oriental section and continuing to develop and expand in the WVestern and Primitive areas.

At present, the Oriental division includes representative pieces from Burma, China, India, Thailand and Ceylon. The strongest of these is the Burmese section which contains numerous iconographi- cally important Buddha images of various fabrics, gestures and sizes ranging in date from the sixth to the eighteenth century; also rhythmical dancing mats, manuscripts, textiles and colorful lacquer ware. Our most recent Burmese acquisition is the treasured book of Prince Temiya, a 22 foot long, hand-painted narrative cycle Parabiak (Accordion Book), which cap- sulizes in word and picture the serenity and circumstance of Burmese creative ex- pression. With this singularly important

12. Masaccio, Virgin and Child. Stolen 12/3/71 from Palazzo Vecchio, Flor- ence.

object and some 100 other pieces, the Burmese collection achieved much recog- nition when it was shown at the Burmese pavillion of Expo '71 in Montreal.

Denison has recently acquired some highly prized Chinese objects that greatly strengthen our gTowing Oriental collection. There are excellent examples of Ming paintings, early bronzes and a vari- ety of ceramic ware from all periods of Chinese history. There are also Imperial theater costumes, calligraphic scrolls, textiles and an unusual collection of rub- bings derived from various primary sources.

The Western section ranges from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. The Print Collection contains examples from each historical epoch, including illumi- nated pages, hand-colored sheets from the Kroneberger Bible, woodcuts by Urs Graf and Hans Sebald Beham, engravings by Heinrich Aldegrever and Leonard Gaul- tier as well as Piranesi's seventy Views of Rome, mostly second through fifth states. Among twentieth century prints are a se- lection of Picasso's Les Saltim banques and 45 etchings by John Sloan done between 1890 and 1941. Frank Stella, Richard An- uskewicz, Robert Marx and Paul Wunder- lich, are some of the contemporary print- makers represented.

12. Masaccio, Virgin and Child. Stolen 12/3/71 from Palazzo Vecchio, Flor- ence.

object and some 100 other pieces, the Burmese collection achieved much recog- nition when it was shown at the Burmese pavillion of Expo '71 in Montreal.

Denison has recently acquired some highly prized Chinese objects that greatly strengthen our gTowing Oriental collection. There are excellent examples of Ming paintings, early bronzes and a vari- ety of ceramic ware from all periods of Chinese history. There are also Imperial theater costumes, calligraphic scrolls, textiles and an unusual collection of rub- bings derived from various primary sources.

The Western section ranges from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. The Print Collection contains examples from each historical epoch, including illumi- nated pages, hand-colored sheets from the Kroneberger Bible, woodcuts by Urs Graf and Hans Sebald Beham, engravings by Heinrich Aldegrever and Leonard Gaul- tier as well as Piranesi's seventy Views of Rome, mostly second through fifth states. Among twentieth century prints are a se- lection of Picasso's Les Saltim banques and 45 etchings by John Sloan done between 1890 and 1941. Frank Stella, Richard An- uskewicz, Robert Marx and Paul Wunder- lich, are some of the contemporary print- makers represented.

189 189



Betel box, lacquer, h. 10", diam. 103/8". Gift of Mrs. Garofola(?) Madonna and Child with SS. Joseph and Jataka (illustrated book: Parahaik), watercolor and

T. F. Holbert. Catherine, oil on panel, 231/2 X 191/2". Gift of Mrs. gold leak on paper, 171/2" X 463".

E. W. Ingram.

Seated Buddha, Laotian, lacquered and gilded wood, h. 181/4" (left). Seated Buddha, lacquered and gilded wood, h. 91/4" (right). Latter gift of Dr. J. W. Grimes. (lower left.)

Wine Vessel (Hu), Late Chou, 3rd C. B.C., bronze, h. 121/2", diam.

91/2", top diam. 41/2". Gift of the Dye Family. (lower center.)

Chiu Ju Presenting Sheep, Ming, end 16th C., painting on silk, 343/4" X

21 (;"'. Gift of the Dye Family. (lower right.)

Entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon, tapestry from design of Charles Le Brun, C. 1700, 9'9" X 13'10". Gift of E. G. Burke.

190



The Drawing section begins with examples from the seventeenth century Roman School: Carlo Maratta's spandrel design Asia and America, Pietro da Cortona's Three Mythological Scenes, Benedetto Luti's Female Portrait, and a landscape by Remigio Cantagallina. Moreover, there are earlier little masters represented, nota- bly Raphael's student, G. F. Penni, and later draughtsmen such as Guiseppe Bison and Rosa Bonheur.

Among the European paintings are the Holy Family by Domenico Beccafumi, a Madonna and Child with SS. Joseph and Catherine attributed to Garafola, a fifteenth century Spanish panel of unknown hand, and works by Pourbus, Lancret and the American painter, Blakelock. Exam- ples of sculpture include a fifteenth century German Madonna and Child, a Bust Portrait of Voltaire by J. A. Houdon and Jacob Epstein's bronze Portrait of Iris Tree. There are also several tapestries including Charles Le Brun's Entry of Alex- ander the Great into Babylon, David

Carlo Maratta, Spandrel design (Asia and America) Teniers' A Military Scene and Arnault's black ink and red chalk on white paper. 18 X 11/4 Telemachus sold into Slavery. X 53/4" Ex call: Walter Plait Cooke. Currently the University is moving to-

ward the development of holdings in the area of Primitive art by purchasing Afri- can masks and other tribal objects. Dur- ing the past year, Denison received a pri- vate collection of Panamanian artifacts including a rare Mu Sekop therapeutic image as well as a group of little known life-size wooden figures in balsa and ma- hagony. The collection also includes pre- scriptive manuscripts and ceremonial ba- tons.

The Denison Gallery staff consists of a director, two curators, a registrar and student assistants. The galleries offer an annual schedule of ten exhibitions, the pub- lication of informative and scholarly cata- logues, the semi-annual Oriental Art Newsletter as well as a series of traveling shows drawn from the collections.

In September, 1973, the new Burke Hall of Music and Art will open. The art collection will then have a permanent home complete with storage areas, ade- quate exhibition space and a student-fac- ulty research facility. Students at Denison now participate in all museum functions. Beginning in 1973 they will have the op- portunity also, to take courses in Museol- ogy offered as part of a growing 21-course Art History curriculum which is sup- ported by a collection of 35,000 slides and good library resources. In a rural mid- western setting the Denison University collection offers to the layman and scholar alike a chance to view and study at first- hand original works of art of many periods.

Madonna and Child, Italian, C. 1450, polychrome wood. Gift of the S. H. Kress Foundation.

Abraham Bloemaert, Angel Gabriel Holding Lily, black ink and brown wash heightened with white, 91/2 X 71/2 Ex. Walter Platt Cook Coll.

Uchu: Mu Sekop (grandmother Jacob), Olotiptikinya, d. 1967, carved and painted wood, h. 15". Gift of Dr. Clyde E. Keeler.

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The Denison University Art Collection