Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

If you have attended the new exhibition, Magnificent Gifts for the 75th, you may have seen the rare books on explorations of Egypt given to the library on display in the last room. The museum’s Spencer Art Reference Library has an extensive collection of approximately 4,900 rare books known as the library’s Special Collections.

The Special Collections includes books that were either published before 1900 or are qualified as rare. The collections include books, auction catalogs and many other types of items. Some of the other items include a collection of 53 reproduction Asian scrolls. The scrolls are reproductions of paintings from various centuries of Chinese and Japanese painting. One of the scrolls, (call number WEN ND 1049 .W4 K8 1900z) is a reproduction of a painting in the Museum’s collection, Old Cypress and Rocks by Wen Zhengming a Chinese artist who worked in the 15th and 16th centuries. The reproduction scroll in the library’s collection includes a reproduction of the painting, along with panels of text.

In Special Collections the Library also houses Museum founder William Rockhill Nelson’s personal book collection. Known as the Oak Hall Collection, it includes 89 titles on a variety of topics including gardening, natural history, the history of art and many volumes of literature, which shows us the diverse interests that Mr. Nelson must have had.

One set that I found interesting was a multi-volume set of Shakespeare’s plays. These volumes, bound in red leather, are facsimiles of the quarto publications of Shakespeare’s plays owned by libraries and private collections in Great Britain. The quarto editions of Shakespeare’s plays were the first publications of his plays, before the better-known folio editions. These facsimiles were published in the 1880’s. The first eleven volumes were published by William Griggs, and the rest were published by Charles Praetorius.

Looking at the volumes, the text of the plays themselves is the original 17th century text, with the names of the characters in italics, and the font is a beautiful, flowing font with serifs on the ends of the letters. The spellings are original too, so some of the words appear unfamiliar to the modern reader. It makes one wonder; are these volumes like the versions of the plays the original actors would have seen?

Viewing books from Special Collections can be like a treasure hunt. To begin your own hunt, try this sample search in the Leonardo catalog to find all the titles in William Rockhill Nelson’s library. Type “Oak Hall” as a general keyword search (with the quotation marks). What is your favorite title in his collection? Any of the items in Special Collections may be requested at the Reference Desk and viewed in the Library’s Reading Room on the second floor of the Bloch Building. Enjoy the hunt!

From Greek tragedies to modern-day musicals, the theater has been a part of the arts for centuries. All the World’s a Stage: Theater and Costume, a new exhibition of works on paper, explores theater’s impact on artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The walls of Gallery P27 are graced by prints and drawings by artists such as Eduoard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Marc Chagall and James Ensor.

A large two-piece set by León Bakst dominates the space (see above). Measuring 4 x 6 feet each, the two panels are placed on opposing walls. Each one contains three characters in exotic costumes from The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian by Gabriele d’ Annunzio. The play opened at the Théâtre Châtelet in Paris in 1911 with music by Claude Debussy and costumes by Bakst. Bakst made more than 500 costumes for this production alone.

The other works of art in the gallery may not be as large, but they are full of compelling details. The two that intrigued me the most were Polichinelle by Eduoard Manet and The Vengeance of Hop-Frog by James Ensor.

Polichinelle (right) immediately caught my eye with his colorful clownish costume, including a big floppy hat and ruffled collar. As I looked closer, I noticed the stick behind his back and the stern look on his face. I wanted to find out who this interesting character really was, so I began to read the label.

Polichinelle is derived from the Italian Commedia dell’arte character Pulcinella who was associated with deceit and duplicity. Manet has dressed his version as Marshall MacMahon, the president of the French Third Republic. MacMahon was nicknamed “Marshall Baton” for his brutal suppression of the Paris Commune of 1871, which fought against the exploitation of the working class and for a more egalitarian system.

One final tidbit explained that Polichinelle was actually the model for Punch, the English puppet from the Punch and Judy show. Like MacMahon, Punch was known for using his baton at every opportunity.

The other image I found interesting (in a disturbing sort of way) was The Vengeance of Hop-Frog by James Ensor (left). This etching illustrates a scene from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, Hop Frog.

In Poe’s story, Hop-Frog is a dwarf court jester who avenges the mistreatment that he has suffered at the hands of the king and his entourage. Hop-Frog convinces the royal band to wear orangutan costumes, chains them together like wild beasts, and leads them into a grand masquerade ball, where they gleefully terrify the guests. At the climactic moment, he hoists them to the ceiling, climbs up to “discover” their identities, and “accidentally” sets them afire with his torch.

As engrossed as I was in the story, I noticed something that wasn’t mentioned on the label. A figure stands in the foreground with his back to us. He wears a sash inscribed with the artist’s name. Ensor used theatrical metaphors to criticize the world around him but that didn't mean he hid behind a costume.

Works on paper rotate about every six months. Because of their sensitivity to light, they may be displayed for only six months at a time before they are stored away for at least five years.

FIRST Léon Bakst, The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, 1911, Color-lithographed poster in two parts. Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the Leawood Women’s Club, Richard Shields, and Felice Stampfle in memory of her uncle Arthur J. Suiter, F85-9 B. SECOND Eduoard Manet, French (1823-1883). Polichinelle, 1874. Seven colored crayon, lithograph. Purchase: Nelson Gallery Foundation, F87-9. THIRD James Ensor, Belgian, 1860-1949. The Vengeance of Hop-Frog, 1898. Hand-colored etching. Purchase: William Rockhill Trust, 73-17.