The Skyliner

Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News

Kaelyn Pfenning and Jennilyn Dempsey
News and Features Editor/Staff Writer


Bob Jones university's museum leads students and guests on a National Treasure-like adventure to discover a painting's thumbprint.

Art Speak Demystified, one of the museum's art displays, explains how experts determine who painted a picture, tells what is an original or a copy and traces the ownership of a painting.

"It's sort of the wow factor of the exhibit. When you walk in, there's this structure in the middle of the room that paintings hang on that lets you see the paintings from the front and the back," said John Nolan, curator.

The fronts and the backs of five pictures greet the visitor, each with a fascinating history.

From the information on the back of the picture, some of the history of the picture can be read.

The backs of the paintings contain seals, addresses, inventory numbers, water stains, and more.

"We're playing off the idea that there are terms used in art that sometimes your average visitor does not understand," said Mr. Nolan.

The display defines four terms of art jargon, one of which is recto verso.

The Recto and Verso section reveals the rich history that many ignore between the paint and the wall. This section displays the five paintings mentioned early, which form a circle and call the attention of the visitors' eyes.

Another section of the exhibit explains how experts trace the ownership history of a painting, known as provenance.

"[Provenance] is the spring board for a lot of history of where these paintings have been, whose collections they were in, and what role they played in world history," said Mr. Nolan.

One painting in the gallery was owned by Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.

BJU received one of these paintings directly from the original owners. The painting's history can be traced since it was passed down from one generation to another until it arrived at BJU.

In addition to Recto Verso and Provenance, Attribution and Versions are explained.

Attribution conveys how scholars determine who painted the picture.

A variety of methods can be used to discover the painter, such as manuscripts and relationships.

The Attribution section features a painting by a famous sculptor and another that helped determine the artist of a work in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The section on Versions depict a few pictures which have been duplicated or copied over the years. Many painters often copied their own works also, resulting in different versions.

Copies done by other artists, including one by a Greenville resident, are also displayed to illustrate the term version.

"It's an exhibition that gives [students] access to paintings they've probably never had before," said Mr. Nolan.

Each section of the gallery details some background of the painting displayed.

Scripts next to the paintings explain the history or progress of the picture with new details not found in regular museums.

Bob Jones University will be changing this special display around the beginning of the summer.

Admissions costs $3 for students and $5 for adults. The museum opens from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
"It is a new approach for us to give a behind the scenes look," said Mr. Nolan.

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