Roberta and Richard Huber Colloquium, Spring 2022

Tuesday, May 10, 6:30pm

Incriminating Statues: Jonghelinck and the Duke of Alba

Giulio Dalvit, Assistant Curator for Sculpture, the Frick Collection

In 1571, a full-length bronze statue of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, Third Duke of Alba and governor of the Netherlands, disparagingly nicknamed “the Butcher of Flanders”, was erected in Antwerp. It was met with criticism, both on the part of the Spanish and the local population. Cast by Jacques Jonghelinck with molten bronze from the cannons of Louis of Nassau’s troops during the battle of Jemmingen (1568), the statue was taken down by Alba’s successor as governor, Luis de Requesens, in 1574. The subject of many prints, poems, and essays spanning from the eulogistic to the satirical, the monument was long said to have been torn to pieces by the populace after the fall of the citadel in 1577. In fact, the statue was likely hidden and later re-cast into new cannons by the Spanish themselves. Often called a “memoria” of the Duke, the now-lost monument survives in our memory only through proxies – chief among them, the bronze bust of the Duke now at the Frick Collection in New York. Outlining the history of the monument, its destruction, and its afterlives, this paper seeks to investigate the peculiarities of bronze as a fabric of memory. Now part of a museum display, Jonghelinck’s bust is a complex work: a familial keepsake, an object of unparalleled artistic virtuosity, and (a reminder of) a public monument, it encourages nuanced thinking, asking questions as to the role of sculpture within and without the museum context.

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Tuesday, March 1, 6:30pm

The Hispanic Society Museum and Library: Into the Future

Guillaume Kientz, Director & CEO of the Hispanic Society Museum and Library

Guillaume Kientz will present an insightful lecture on the unique collection of the Hispanic Society, founded in 1904 as both a museum and library. The collection is unparalleled in its scope and quality, and includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, ceramics, glass, textiles, prints, photographs, furniture, as well as manuscripts, rare books, maps, and documents. The collection spans from the first millennium BC to the twentieth century, and documents the art, culture, and customs of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the Philippines, and Indian Goa. As all cultural organizations strive to reinvent themselves to face the needs facing our society and serve the public to its fullest ability, the Hispanic Society is on the cusp of both its physical and intellectual transformation. Through its master plan addressing the landmark facilities, the Hispanic Society’s collection serves as the foundation to offer invigorating programming as well as being the cultural hub uptown Manhattan. The future is now and engagement is core to making a difference.