So the Summer months are finally here, and I have not done an update for a half of a year. It has been a very busy. I had been very busy with this past semester at Baker University, getting everything wrapped up with my Art History stuff and starting new research. I have finally wrapped up all of my research on the Quayle Tapestry and was able to present it at the Baker University's Scholars Symposium to a very good and welcoming audience. I feel that it was a success and brought about a lot more interest into the museum from the University. This has been shown not just by the number of visitors that we had received since the lecture/presentation but also with the renewed interest by the school's board of trustees, which is very refreshing to see. Several members of the board have reportedly approached my boss, the director of libraries, to see what else can be done to help the museum as far as acquisition of new materials for us to proper atmospheric controls and other items for better conservation of our artifacts to other things I am not fully aware of. I am proud to say that the university is finally taking a new look at the museum and has this renewed interest in it. I just hope that the changes are made for the better of the museum in my lifetime and it brings a positive change to the university as a whole.
As I stated above, new research has been started. This research is similar to what I had been doing last summer in a way. This summer I am researching the entire collection as far as illustrations are concerned, documenting them and cataloging them. These works are not as easy as what the exhibition that I curated last summer was. Those images were mostly done by big name artist like Gustav Dore, Albrecht Durer, William Blake, Jost Amman, Virgil Solis, and Petite Bernard (all original works) or easily researched based on the signatures of the artist. This new research project however goes into work where there is no artist signatures, books that may have been one of a kind for a high ranking family like a Duke or Earl, or for a certain wealthy priest who was able to pay for illustrations to be put in their bible or book of hours. This is the kind of work that I love, work that really allows me to rediscover some book maker's work or some unknown/forgotten artist of today to be recognized once again for the amazing craftsmanship that they did and to help bring the collection here at Baker University to more of a complete state than what it currently is in hopes that eventually the Quayle will receive more notice from the public all together as a noted museum as it should be.
Attached to this update is an example of new research I am conducting. The images are from a small Livre de Heures, published in 1533 by Germain Hardouin in Paris France. The language is Latin, labeled "Secundum Vsum Romanum" or translated "For use of Rome".
"The Nativity" Livre des Heures, Germain Hardouin. 1533
"Scenes from the life of King David and Bathsheba" Livre des Heures. Germain Hardouin. 1533
"St. Eligius" (left), "St. Lawrence" (right, top), Unknown Saint (right, bottom). Livres des Heures. Germain Hardouin. 1533