Work of the Week: Unknown Artist after Sebastiano Serlio,“Study for a Stage Design: Street Lined with Palatial Buildings”

We do not know who drew this delicate ink and chalk drawing. We do know, however, that it is a copy of a woodcut from a book rather famous at the time, the Second Book on Perspective by Italian architect and theorist Sebastiano Serlio (published in 1545). Today, Serlio is remembered as the author of the first architectural treatise in a modern language to be printed with illustrations, also the first to devote an entire section to the theatre. That is where we find the source image for this drawing, titled The Tragic Scene. The drawing may have been a lesson in perspective (apprentices repeatedly copied works by other artists in order to master various skills, types of compositions, or media), or a point of departure for a different composition.

Work of the Week: David Hilliard, “Wiser than Despair”

David Hilliard(American, b. 1964), Wiser Than Despair, 2012, C-print, 24 in. x 80 in. The AlfondCollection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68Alfond, 2013.34.12. Image courtesy of the artist and Carroll and Sons, Boston.

Work of the Week: Catherine Yass, “Lighthouse (North north west, distant)”

Catherine Yass (British, b. 1963), Lighthouse (North north west, distant), 2011, Photographic transparency, lightbox, 50 ¾ x 40 ¾ in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond. 2020.1.11 © Catherine Yass. Image courtesy Galerie Lelong

Lavinia Fontana: The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion

Outside of my bias of having been trained as an Italienist, The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion, is one of the most important Old Masters in our collection (as a mature work by one of the few female

Work of the Week: Käthe Kollwitz, “Untitled (Mob [Family] with Dead Child)”

Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867–1945), Untitled (“Mob [Family] with Dead Child”), n.d., Dry point etching, Gift of Mrs. Ruth Funk, Cornell Fine Arts Museum 2001.04.09.PR Where history provides perspective and comparison, art provides context and comfort. Historical art often provides both. That is why I

Ridley Howard: Paintings & Moments

Earlier this week I happened to get off the elevator on the second floor of The Alfond Inn. I had not been on that floor recently, so it had been a while since I had seen Ridley Howard’s Motel Pool. 

Exuberance in Nicole Eisenman’s Painting

Last summer, when our museum was closed due to the pandemic and the future was very uncertain, we started looking for new ways to keep more closely in touch with our diverse publics: students, life-long learners, members, donors. We introduced virtual programs