USJ Art Museum Unveils Unique Exhibit Of Ancient Manuscript

University of Saint Joseph

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, on Thursday, unveiled a unique art exhibit in which ancient, hand-written book pages are the art itself.

The Art Museum at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford opened the exhibition "Painted Pages: Illuminated Manuscripts, 13th – 18th Centuries." The exhibition will continue on view through Dec. 13.

Painted Pages, organized by the Reading Public Museum (Reading, Pa.) from its own collection, highlights the golden age of hand-written and illuminated volumes, many of which included elaborate gold leaf decoration and intricate ornamentation.

Medieval European examples include a range of Christian devotional and liturgical texts –from psalters and books of hours to choir books and lectionaries.

French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Flemish, English, and German pages are featured.

Among the non-Western examples are 17th- and 18th-century leaves from the Koran and the Shahnameh (the Persian Illustrated Book of Kings) as well as Hebrew texts.

The presentation of Painted Pages is supported in part by the Karen L. Chase ‘97 Fund.

The Art Museum at the University of Saint Joseph is located in Bruyette Athenaeum on the university's main campus at 1678 Asylum Ave., West Hartford. Public open hours are Tuesday through Saturday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Monday and Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.usj.edu/artmuseum.