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Falmouth Forum Series 2006-2007
"The Pathos of Bubonic Plague in Italy (1500-1800) Depicted Through Art"
February 9, 2007 - Lillie Auditorium, 7:30 PM
Lectures are free and open to the public.
James Welu, Director, Worcester Art Museum and Richard Glew, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMass Medical School
Press release
Abstract:
Hope and Healing: Painting in Italy in a Time of Plague, 1500-1800 was the first exhibition in North America to examine the response of the visual arts to the plague. The intersection of scientific knowledge and spiritual needs that was investigated in this exhibition is an engaging subject for the medical community as well as the general public. Exploring the ways in which Italian society responded to this recurring, unpredictable disaster illuminates a variety of aesthetic, social, and religious concerns. Spiritual remedies such as fasting, penitential processions, charity, and prayer to heavenly intercessors were proclaimed and mandated by the church. All are represented in the paintings of the period, for the role of art was to remind viewers of these remedies. In our more secular world, science plays a major role in coping with plagues such as AIDS, Ebola, and SARS. Still art continues to inspire and give perspective to the human condition in times of disaster.
Dr. James A. Welu is the Director of the Worcester Art Museum (the second largest art museum in New England) and a specialist in 17th century Dutch and Flemish painting and cartography. He joined the staff of the Worcester Art Museum in 1974, and has served as Director since 1986. Dr. Welu has also served as President of the Association of Art Museum Directors, and Chair of Accreditation Commission for American Association of Museums. During his career, he has organized several major exhibitions including Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World, the first show of the most famous woman artist from Holland’s Golden Age. Dr. Welu received his B.A. from Loras College, his MA and MFA from the University of Notre Dame, and his Ph.D. from Boston University. He has been widely published and is a frequent lecturer.
Dr. Richard Harvey Glew received his A.B. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was an intern and resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and then spent two years in the Public Health Service. After training in infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine in 1975. Dr. Glew moved to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in 1977 and is presently Vice Chair for Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care. Dr. Glew has received several UMass teaching awards including the Lamar Soutter Award for Excellence in Medical Education. He has also been the recipient of the Outstanding Clinical Medical Educator Award 19 times, including the last 7 consecutive years, and has appeared in The Best Doctors in America on numerous occasions. He is a member of several professional societies and currently serves on the Continuing Medical Education (CME) program committee for the New England Journal of Medicine.
Admission to this Falmouth Forum presentation is free and open to the public. A buffet dinner is available before the lecture at 6:00 p.m. in the Swope Center located near the auditorium. Dinner tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at either Eight Cousins Children’s Books, Main Street, Falmouth, or at the MBL’s Communications Office in the Candle House in Woods Hole. Dinner seats are limited and tickets are only available until they sell out or until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6. For more information, contact the MBL Communications Office at: (508) 289-7423 or
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