Bellarmine Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Bellarmine Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of Fairfield University
in Fairfield, Connecticut
. The museum features Classical, Medieval
, Renaissance, Baroque
, Celtic
and Asian
art and artifacts in three distinct galleries totaling 2700 square feet (250.8 m²) of space.
The museum is located on the renovated lower level of Bellarmine Hall which was designed in 1920 in the English manorial style. Formerly known as Hearthstone Hall because of its many fireplaces and chimneys, this forty-four room mansion was built by Walter B. Lashar, owner of the American Chain and Cable Company. The Jesuits purchased Bellarmine Hall from the town of Fairfield in 1942 to serve as one of the foundational building for Fairfield University.
in plan, showcases ten paintings from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods, works gifted to the University by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation via Bridgeport's Discovery Museum
. In a smaller side gallery, highlights from the University's collection of plaster casts after exemplary works from ancient Rome and Greece (including eight recently donated to the University by the Acropolis Museum
in Athens) are displayed. The corridor adjacent to the Meditz gallery holds casts of significant pieces from the Parthenon
. In addition to these objects, the museum houses a range of non-Western art artifacts (including pre-Columbian vessels, 19th-century South East Asian sculptures and African masks), along with pieces from the Celtic, Byzantine, Medieval and Romanesque periods on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
's Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters
.
Also among its valuable collection, the Bellarmine Museum is home to a rare facsimile of The Book of Kells, which was donated by The Wild Geese organization. The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript
, produced by Celtic
monk
s around AD 800 in the style known as Insular art
. It is one of the more lavishly illuminated manuscript
s to survive from the Middle Ages
and has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination.
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
. The museum features Classical, Medieval
Medieval art
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa...
, Renaissance, Baroque
Baroque art
Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival, but the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states throughout Western...
, Celtic
Celtic art
Celtic art is the art associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic...
and Asian
Asian art
Asian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
art and artifacts in three distinct galleries totaling 2700 square feet (250.8 m²) of space.
History
The Bellarmine Museum of Art opened in October 2010. It was built at a cost of $3.2 million and was designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners. The Bellarmine's main gallery, The Frank and Clara Meditz Gallery, is named in honor of the parents of the lead donor to the project, University Trustee and alumnus John Meditz '70.The museum is located on the renovated lower level of Bellarmine Hall which was designed in 1920 in the English manorial style. Formerly known as Hearthstone Hall because of its many fireplaces and chimneys, this forty-four room mansion was built by Walter B. Lashar, owner of the American Chain and Cable Company. The Jesuits purchased Bellarmine Hall from the town of Fairfield in 1942 to serve as one of the foundational building for Fairfield University.
Collections
The Meditz Gallery, which resembles an early Christian basilicaBasilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
in plan, showcases ten paintings from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods, works gifted to the University by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation via Bridgeport's Discovery Museum
Discovery Museum and Planetarium
The Discovery Museum and Planetarium is a hands-on science museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut that serves as both a tourist destination and an educational resource for area schools. The museum hosts three creative traveling exhibits each year and has permanent space, sound and electricity...
. In a smaller side gallery, highlights from the University's collection of plaster casts after exemplary works from ancient Rome and Greece (including eight recently donated to the University by the Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
The Old Acropolis Museum was an archaeological museum located in Athens, Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. It is built in a niche at the eastern edge of the rock and most of it lies beneath the level of the hilltop, making it largely invisible. It was considered one of the major...
in Athens) are displayed. The corridor adjacent to the Meditz gallery holds casts of significant pieces from the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
. In addition to these objects, the museum houses a range of non-Western art artifacts (including pre-Columbian vessels, 19th-century South East Asian sculptures and African masks), along with pieces from the Celtic, Byzantine, Medieval and Romanesque periods on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
's Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters
The Cloisters
The Cloisters is a museum located in Fort Tryon Park, New York City. The building, which is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was reconstructed in the 1930s from the architectural elements of several European medieval abbeys...
.
Also among its valuable collection, the Bellarmine Museum is home to a rare facsimile of The Book of Kells, which was donated by The Wild Geese organization. The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
, produced by Celtic
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s around AD 800 in the style known as Insular art
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of Ireland and Great Britain. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe...
. It is one of the more lavishly illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s to survive from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination.