Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University

Drama & Beauty
Published by DGiles, this beautifully illustrated catalog—featuring 55 works from the Collection—presents a fascinating survey of religious European art from the 14th-19th centuries. Plus, enjoy an introduction to M&G by Executive Director Erin R. Jones and specialist Richard P. Townsend’s essay about collector Dr. Bob Jones Jr.

Get One: www.amazon.com/Drama-Beauty-European-Paintings-Collection/dp/1913875202


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The concept of “mindfulness,” in the sense of being aware and focused on what’s happening at present, isn’t new. It has been a challenge to human beings for centuries to pause, observe, and consider. For July, the summer month of vacationing, attend to some interesting details in just a handful of objects in M&G’s Collection. Noting details in art can improve your perceptivity and awareness in other areas of life.

Attention to Detail: Flemish Storytelling
Frans Francken the Elder was influenced by the style of the Italian Renaissance through his teacher, Frans Floris, who had traveled to Rome. Along with his brother, Hieronymus, Francken established a family dynasty of painters in Antwerp, the most famous being his son with the same name, Frans Francken the Younger.

One of the Apostle Paul’s stops on his first missionary journey was at Lystra, in present-day Turkey. Accompanied by Barnabas, Paul healed a crippled man (portrayed in the far left background). Lystra’s citizens could only attribute such power to the gods, so they called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercury (since he was the chief spokesman) and prepared to offer oxen as sacrifice to them. Francken captures the consternation of Paul (the man pointing to the heavens) and Barnabas (wearing the red robe) as they plead with the townspeople to worship the true God, Creator of heaven and earth.

Francken the Elder also includes some other details to flesh out the story visually. Above the sacrificial altar is an idol—a statue of Jupiter with his lightning bolt and eagle. And, in the background on the right is a Classical Roman-style temple possibly honoring Jupiter.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Lystra | Oil on panel, signed lower right: f, francken fe et. IX
Frans Francken, the Elder | Flemish, 1542–1616
From the collection of the Museum & Gallery, Inc.



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in 1755, Sarah Kemble Siddons was born. She became a great actress during the Georgian era—and quite possibly England’s greatest tragic actress. Her best known, signature role was Lady Macbeth. For her roles, she made both interpretive and costume choices, which added to her reputation and celebrity status.

Learn more about this legendary personality through M&G’s painting of Siddons as Lady Macbeth: https://museumandgallery.org/mrs-siddons-as-lady-macbeth/

Happy Fourth of July!
in 1776, US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain.

Learn more about our first President, George Washington, through this portrait by Gilbert Stuart in the National Portrait Gallery. The symbols included in the work reveal much about Washington and the young United States.

Look and Listen: https://museumandgallery.org/gilbert-stuart/

You Can Inspire the Next Generation
One of M&G’s popular annual outreaches—Kids Create! summer art day camp—just ended! Nearly 400 kids from K5 through 8th grade were exposed to the art and people of the Middle Ages.

While families settle into their summer routine, the Museum & Gallery is gathering supplies, scheduling lessons, and marshalling creativity for all of M&G’s educational programming whether delivered to students in the classroom or around the kitchen table.

As our culture continues to insist on exposing children to every other perspective, interest in children’s programming that inspires creativity, problem-solving and artistic expression affirming God’s perspective continues to grow.

Your best gift now will give parents peace of mind and provide thousands of children an opportunity to be inspired.

Please make a gift to transform lives through M&G, where we touch the whole person—mind, heart, and soul. You can give securely online:
-recurring gift: https://museumandgallery.org/recurring-donation/
-one-time gift: https://museumandgallery.org/give-online/

Up Close & Personal
The unusual iconography of this diminutive, portrait-like figure leads the viewer to seek answers for its intent and purpose. Follow along as guest writer, KC Christmas Beach reveals thoughtful insights into this Venetian Renaissance artist’s style and choices for imagery.

Read Up: https://museumandgallery.org/object-of-the-month-july-2024/


K.C. Christmas

Scenic Adventure: Panels with Personality

These two panels, "A Donor with St. Luke" and "Christ Appearing to St. Mary Magdalene" were once altar wings on either side of a central panel. Large altarpieces, with multiple panels like triptychs and polyptychs were often cut apart and sold separately, such as these panels.

In the 15th century, artists like Jan Mertens filled contractual services for churches but also began to accept private commissions—secular portraits and works of art for meditation. Both arenas began to include a true likeness of the donor and depicting them on equal scale with Biblical personalities, as seen here in Mertens’ altar wings.

The tonsure haircut and simple black robe identify the donor as a Benedictine monk. Behind him stands St. Luke, who acts as a guide behind the donor and can only be identified as the Gospel writer by the ox near his feet. Jesus is shown appearing to Mary Magdalene in the garden after His resurrection. Having come from the empty tomb and thinking Christ is the gardener, Mary explains her desire to find Christ’s body and points to an ornate container holding the spices and ointments she has brought to complete the burial ritual.

These panels place the figures in contemporary medieval dress, in front of a landscape with detailed life, and with the figures interacting with one another. In the century before, paintings of this type had a solid gold background to symbolize the heavenly realm, saints depicted as stiff and aloof, and though the donor could be dressed as a churchman, the saints wore classical robes as a mark of their dignity. Essentially, these choices illustrate that the gospel can bring the “heavenly realm” into a person’s everyday life.

Cropped details from A Donor with St. Luke and Christ Appearing to St. Mary Magdalene | Oil on panel
Jan Mertens, the Younger | Flemish, c. 1470–c. 1527
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Fathers in Art: The Standard of Fathers

This distinctive symbolic imagery of the Trinity, shows the strength and tenderness of God the Father. Look and listen: https://museumandgallery.org/picture-books-of-the-past-lorenzo-di-niccolo-di-martino/

The Holy Trinity | Tempera on panel, c. 1400
Lorenzo di Niccolò di Martino | Florentine, active 1392–1412
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Fathers in Art: A Church Father

This portrait-like depiction depicts the influential St. Augustine, one of the most important leaders and thinkers in the developing church in the late 4th and early 5th centuries. Look and listen: https://museumandgallery.org/gaspar-de-crayer/

St. Augustine | Oil on panel
Gaspar de Crayer | Flemish, 1584–1669
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Scenic Adventure: Tension Relieved

German Renaissance master, Lucas Cranach the Elder captures the climactic moment of this story from Genesis 22 in his "Sacrifice of Isaac." In order to test Abraham’s faith, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only, beloved son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Early the next morning, Abraham took Isaac up on a mountain to sacrifice him, fully believing that God would provide an offering to take Isaac’s place. Isaac willingly submitted to his father and laid down on the altar (as seen in the lower left of the picture).

As Abraham was lifting the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord called from heaven to stop him and said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Genesis 22:11-12). Cranach has positioned the angel ready to use both his hands to stop the knife and spare Isaac.

Nearby, a ram was caught in the bushes (lower right background), and Abraham offered it to God in Isaac’s place. Afterward, God rewarded Abraham by reconfirming the promise that his family line would produce the Christ.

Detailed cropping of The Sacrifice of Isaac | Oil on panel
Lucas Cranach, the Elder | German, 1472–1553
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

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Details, Details
This large canvas is one of seven from a remarkable series commissioned by King George III from Benjamin West, known as the father of American painting. Take a closer look to notice the intentional details and to understand better a dramatic moment in an Old Testament passage.

View It: https://museumandgallery.org/moses-and-aaron-before-pharaoh-benjamin-west-p-r-a/

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Fathers in Art: A Surrogate Father

This tender painting reveals insights into Joseph, Christ’s surrogate father. Look and listen: https://museumandgallery.org/carlo-francesco-nuvolone/

St. Joseph and the Christ Child | Oil on canvas
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (attr. to) | Milanese, 1608-1661
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Beauty for Today

The Destruction of Sennacherib
By Lord Byron

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

The Destruction of the Army of Sennacherib | Oil on canvas
Ilario Spolverini | Lombard, 1657–1734
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Scenic Adventure: A Focused Conversation

Abraham Bloemaert was one of the most important and influential Dutch artists of the early 17th century. Many of his students became the artistic leaders of the next generation including Hendrick Terbrugghen, Jan Hermansz. van Bijlert, and Gerrit van Honthorst.

John chapter 4 describes a special interaction—something the artist has communicated well through the gestures of the two characters. As Jesus journeyed from Judea to Galilee, He intentionally chose to travel through Samaria, home to a people who were hated by the Jews because of their mixed blood—part Jew, part Gentile. Arriving in Sychar, Jesus rested at Jacob’s well while His disciples went into the town to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water, and He asked her for a drink. She was astonished since Jews never associated with Samaritans. Jesus then proceeded to tell her that if she really knew who He was, she would be asking Him for living water. Then He spoke to her about her life, sharing details that no stranger could have known, including her previous five marriages and present adultery. He also answered her theological questions, convincing her that He was the Messiah. She left her water pot at the well and brought the townsmen to see Jesus. Many came to believe Him, first for her testimony and then for His teaching.

In "Christ and the Samaritan Woman," this personal, gentle conversation takes place at the well, near a tree and an ivy-covered wall with the mounted pulley for collecting well water. The woman has placed her water jug on the edge of the well to listen and accept Christ’s words. In the distance, a group of disciples wait for Christ to finish, and in the lower right background is the city.

Detail of Christ and the Samaritan Woman | Oil on canvas; signed twice, c. 1620
Abraham Bloemaert | Dutch, 1566–1651
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

As you can see, we finished another great week of Kids Create! summer art day camp--A Quest for the Medieval!

It was dress-up day today! Our K5-6th grade creatives came as a middle ages character from dragons and squires to knights and princesses to monks and peasants! Parents and families came to see their camper's works on exhibit at a special reception.

We've had a wonderful time learning about the life and culture of the Middle Ages!

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An Artist Father

Before Senior and Junior, there was Elder and Younger. This master became the Leonardo da Vinci of Germany’s Renaissance, and as a father he established a thriving entrepreneurial business that he handed down to his equally astute and talented son.

Look & Learn: https://museumandgallery.org/salome-with-the-head-of-st-john-the-baptist/

In 1776 , the great English landscape artist John Constable was born. In his 6-foot wide painting from 1821 in London’s National Gallery, "Landscape: Noon" (also called "The Haywain") shows his skill of painting rural England with scenes of agrarian life. He sought to elevate the natural landscape and working the land in the hearts and minds of people who were seeing farm life become more endangered by machinery taking people’s jobs. He shared the Romanticists’ feeling that people needed to be reminded of their intrinsic connection to nature.

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The Last Call for Creativity!!

The portal to submit your application for M&G's 8th annual Makers Market closes TODAY, Sunday, June 9 at midnight EST! If you're interested in applying to participate, submit your work today!

Remember the Market of curated handmade art and clever creations takes place on Saturday, October 12, which is during Homecoming on the university campus.

Check out the info, FAQs, and everything you need to know here: https://museumandgallery.org/mg-makers-market-apply/

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Scenic Adventure: Taken by Force

According to Genesis 12, a famine compelled Abraham and his wife Sarah to take refuge in Egypt. Knowing his wife’s considerable physical beauty, Abraham feared that Pharaoh would kill him in order to add Sarah to his harem. Since Sarah was his half-sister, he asked her to say that she was his sister. Not long after arriving, word of Sarah’s beauty reached Pharaoh, who indeed took her into his entourage. However, God protected her by sending plagues to the ruler’s household. Pharaoh met Abraham and learned that Sarah was his wife. He returned her safely to her rightful husband and ordered them to leave the country.

French painter, Guillaume Courtois, depicts a dramatic, disruptive seizure of Sarah by the king’s soldiers. Abraham’s worry is expressed in his face and posture, while a calmer Sarah turns back to say goodbye. Even though the clothing and setting are European and not Egyptian, the details surrounding the action are telling. On the right in the background are Abraham’s tents, servants, and grazing flocks. On the left, the soldiers are taking Sarah toward the ruler’s castle, where a concerned servant meets their arrival, and a barking dog responds to the commotion.

Sarah Taken to Pharaoh’s House | Oil on canvas
Guillaume Courtois, called Il Borgognone | French, active in Italy, 1628–1679
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

M&G's Makers Market

Apply or Attend?
Only through Sunday, June 9 at midnight EST is the portal still open to apply for M&G’s 8th annual Makers Market during BJU’s October Homecoming. This specially curated fair offers handmade art, crafts, artisan foods, and designs by independent creatives—all BJU grads, faculty, and students!

Apply Here: https://museumandgallery.org/mg-makers-market-apply/

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Yesterday at M&G's Kids Create! summer art day camp, the campers continued to learn about life in the Middle Ages.

Through interactive discussions, games, and crafts the students discovered interesting facts about the artistry and influence of the Medieval church.

The day began with a group activity outside, making a stained glass window design with sidewalk chalk--such as this one completed by the 5th and 6th graders!

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in 1660, one of the most influential women in England, Sarah Jennings was born. She would later become Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough by marriage to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her strength of will, political savvy, and business acumen placed her within circles of influence as friend to Queen Anne and Whig leaders. She helped build the Churchill estate at Blenheim Palace (pictured), where M&G’s painting "Sacred Conversation" by Bonifazio Veronese once resided.

Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blenheim-Palace.jpg

A Quest for the Medieval

This month, K5-8th graders will discover the elements of design and take an adventure exploring the art and times of the Middle Ages. There are only a few spots available for this coming week of camp—June 10-14—for K5 and elementary school. Register your child or grandchild before we’re full!

Register: https://museumandgallery.org/kids-create/

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Dutch Tenebrism
The creativity, prosperity, and proficiency of the northern provinces in 16th and 17th-century Holland is remarkable. Out of this context, known as the Dutch Golden Age, dozens of talented artists developed and thrived including one of the early students in Utrecht’s Guild of St. Luke, Dirck van Baburen.

Discover More: https://museumandgallery.org/object-of-the-month-june-2024/

Unusual Scenic Adventures
Vacations, travels, and daytrips are a normal part of summer months. Whether you can plan a getaway or not, art can also provide some imaginative journeys. Old Master painters were especially adept at using nuances of setting to draw the viewer into the scene’s story. This month, explore various unusual visual adventures through works in M&G’s collection.

Scenic Adventure: A Water Event

This diminutive canvas just 16” x 14” provides a glimpse into an unusual biblical scene: The Baptism of Christ. Scripture’s details describe that a crowd was present at the event; however, the Flemish artist and teacher, Balthasar Beschey has chosen a more intimate arrangement with just two small groups of people along with two attending angels standing behind John the Baptist. In the distance, there is a person sitting on the riverbank fishing.

At the baptism, Matthew 3:16-17 relates that the heavens opened, a dove descended, and a voice spoke, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Beschey references the scriptural account by showing parted clouds, a bright light, and a dove hovering above.

Detail from: The Baptism of Christ | Oil on canvas, signed and dated: 1720
Balthasar Beschey | Flemish, 1708-1776
From the Museum & Gallery, Inc.

May’s Growing Things: An Apple
Madonna and Child
Oil on panel, c. 1490
Unknown Follower of Hans Memling
Flemish, 15th century

Hans Memling was the leading painter of Bruges during the second half of the 1400s. This small panel is typical of the Flemish master’s style and composition depicting Mary and Christ. Possibly from Memling’s workshop, similar paintings to M&G’s reside in NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chicago Art Institute, and other international collections. This work may have once been part of a diptych—two painting panels hinged and closing like a book. The second panel, now lost, would have pictured a portrait of a donor; these diptychs were an important part of Memling’s studio business.

Mary holds a small apple for Christ. In Old Masters, the apple represents Adam and Eve’s original sin of eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, in the presence of Christ, the fruit symbolizes His position as Savior come to redeem the world lost in darkness.

From the Museum & Gallery Collection

The great Old Master painter, Sir Peter Paul Rubens died at age 62 in 1640.

One of the most successful of artists of all time, Rubens studied many painters in Europe and visited Italy, Spain, and England both as a painter and diplomat. As the head of a large studio, he employed as many as three hundred assistants to help him meet the commissions he received from European kings and nobility. His pageant-like paintings represent the apex of the High Baroque style. Rubens stands as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baroque artists of the Golden Age.

Discover his influence through M&G’s painting featured in this short video:
https://museumandgallery.org/peter-paul-rubens-christ-on-the-cross/

There is still just a little room left for a few K5 and elementary campers at M&G's Kids Create! summer art day camp!

M&G has been offering Kids Create! and our other K-12 arts programs since 2001! If you haven't let your child enjoy this summer program yet, register today!

All age groups will explore the Middle Ages through lessons designed for their age range and skill. It's a perfect way to introduce first-time kindergartners to a fun, learning environment, and a great venue for your elementary student to think creatively. We promise an enjoyable and educational discovery of the past and its people.

Register today!
https://museumandgallery.org/kids-create/

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