Bartolomé Bermejo (Spanish, ca. 1436 - ca. 1498) and Martín Bernat (Spanish, ca. 1440 - 1497)
Virgin of Mercy, 1479-1480 (detail)
Oil on conifer panel
Gift of Friends and Family of Eugene Masselink, 1965.1.1
Mystical Visions in the Material World: Early Modern Art and Life from GRAM’s Collection
The Early Modern period — from the Renaissance (ca. late 14th century) through the Baroque (ca. late 17th century) — was one of the most fertile eras in the history of European art.
About the Exhibition
It was driven by overlapping forces: the social disruptions that followed the Black Death, the recovery and reexamination of Greek and Roman antiquity, the religious upheavals of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and a renewed emphasis on the individual as a subject of both artistic and philosophical attention. Wealthy families, the Catholic Church, and state governments poured resources into artistic production on an unprecedented scale.
Drawn from GRAM’s permanent collection, this exhibition focuses on one of the era’s central preoccupations: the devotional image. Working within the Christian tradition, European artists created paintings, prints, and sculptures intended not merely to illustrate scripture but to move the viewer: to provoke contemplation, inspire piety, and render the mystical experiences of faith visible. Alongside these devotional works, the exhibition traces a parallel impulse: the Renaissance rediscovery of the ancient world.
This exhibition will be on view in GRAM’s Changing Exhibition 1 gallery, adjacent to the exhibition Lust, Love, and Loss in Renaissance Europe, curated by Dr. Nora S. Lambert and organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
