NEW YORK—Certainly, "There's no place like home for the holidays," and theatrical staging reminds us of the holiday spirit of generosity and forgiveness. An art exhibit offers another opportunity to experience the meaning of the season through works that depict the story of a homecoming and renewal of the inner spirit.
The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), which "fosters understanding and appreciation of art inspired by the Bible and its legacy through the centuries by highlighting the connection between art and religion in the Jewish and Christian tradition." The museum's latest exhibit offers an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, and prints to ponder themes expressed through the biblical parable of the prodigal son.
The collection is on loan from the Jerry Evenrud Collection of Luther Seminary in Minneapolis.
"I didn't set out to create a collection; it just happened," says the collector Jerry Evenrud, who is also a musician and arts advocate. "The first thing I bought, which will be featured in this exhibition, is a Rembrandt etching… After that purchase, I went on to acquire some 200 more works in a range of media."
He hopes the collection will, "Sensitize people to the power of the visual… to know that there is forgiveness."
Artists have focused on one of four recurring themes: The younger son's departure from his father's home, the son's debauchery, his fall to living among pigs, and the son's return to his father, who welcomes him home with a feast despite the anger of the dutiful elder son.
A Flemish tapestry from the late 15th century, on loan from the J.B. Speed Art Museum, depicts the first two scenes. It's woven in such a technique that the weaver probably devoted up to eight hours to a single square inch. Only the most affluent members of society could afford them to decorate large rooms and help keep out the cold.
Highlights also include Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son," a painting on the same subject by one of Rembrandt's pupils, and a stained-glass roundel from c.1520-1525. Francesco Bassano the Younger depicts the tale using a noble Venetian family while contemporary artist Mary McCleary shows profound moments amidst a Texas barbecue.
The parable and artistic renditions have had wide public appeal because they also raise questions and examples of how to live responsibly with wealth and how to abide amidst the tensions of everyday family life.
"So many people will come up and say, 'I understand what is being depicted… what it's like… in a dysfunctional family,'" Evenrud explains.
The collected images will guide the viewer through the son's journey and return to his family, one that will prompt consideration of the consequences of one's actions and the power of understanding and acceptance.
The art weaves both an everyday and timeless tale of earthly experience, tolerance, and forgiveness, that encompasses the human world and reaches within to shed light on the human soul. It gives hope and speaks to the power of forgiveness in today's complex world.
The exhibit is on display through February 17, 2008, 1865 Broadway at 61st Street, New York City 212-408-1500 www.mobia.org.
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