Books of hours made during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance were products of collaboration between scribes, illuminators, bookbinders, and, sometimes, the original patron or owner. A recent acquisition of a French book of hours made in Rouen around 1510 tells the story of this collaboration through the structure of its contents, iconography, and assembly.
Artist Anya Ventura explains the context behind an audio tour and printed guide that she and Anther Kiley created illustrating episodes from the lives of seven objects from the Museum's galleries. Their 2012 work "Fragments" was one of the winning projects in the RISD Museum's annual *Sitings* competition for site-specific installations by RISD degree candidates.
Painting student Davis Lloyd recollects stumbling across an unlikely source of inspiration, and connection between ancient art and contemporary painting.
Arlene Shechet discusses the production of works for and the installation design of Arlene Shechet: Meissen Recast with the exhibition's curator, Judith Tannenbaum.
How a project designed to enhance pain management was born and made possible by the collaboration between RISD Museum and the Brown Emergency Medicine Residency.
There's always more to be discovered: Hidden in plain sight since the 11th century, two inscriptions were found during conservation of the Museum's Dainichi Buddha.
While the sixth-floor galleries are undergoing an extensive renovation, the Museum is carefully studying and conducting conservation work on the monumental 12th-century wooden Dainichi Nyorai Buddha. When the Buddha is returned to its gallery in late spring 2014, it will be stabilized and we'll know much more about the art that went into creating this nearly 10-foot-tall sculpture.
Isabella McCormick (Brown/RISD 2015) explores the intricacies of the Gorham Narragansett Salad Set and their reflections on Rhode Island culture, insights gained from her meticulous cleaning of the utensils as part of her Mellon Summer Internship in conservation.
Architect James Stanton-Abbott explains his process for creating a computer-rendered reconstruction of a room in an ancient Roman villa near Pompeii, using images of wall-painting fragments in the RISD Museum and the MFA, Boston.
Editor of publications Amy Pickworth, intern Joanna Cortez, and curatorial assistant of contemporary art A. Will Brown interview UuDam Tran Nguyen about his single channel video Waltz of The Machine Equestrians--The Machine Equestrians (2012).
The discovery of these treasures resembles that of a valuable manuscript. They are a new “Codex Africanus,” not written on fragile papyrus, but in ivory and imperishable brass.
An intern explores the history of works from the museum’s ancient collection, tracing the archaeological excavations that brought them to light and into the permanent collection.