The Study of Art History
Cornell’s Fine Arts Library began with A.D. White’s donation of his architecture library in 1871, and continued to expand. It originally housed the architecture materials as well as casts, drawings, and sculpture, as described here in White’s own notes on the collection. This collection included thousands of casts of gems and medallions depicting classical images through contemporary figures. Today, one can study these religious texts and objects - from beautifully hand drawn images of Hindu deities to the pictographic catechism from the Andes - from an art historical perspective.
Leaf from Flemish Book of Hours, circa 1450.
Leaf from a Book of Hours with pen drawing of God the Father with crucified Christ, late 1100s.
Students studying European art could work with texts such as these two leaves. They illustrate two different styles, one with a lone pen drawing and the other fully embellished with gold paint and floral border.
Book of Hindu Deities. 1860-1900.
Gift of Elizabeth Martin Slutz.
Quechua Prayer Book, 1800s, possibly from Chile.
This manuscript contains pictographic representations of various religious texts, including the Apostles’ Creed, Salve Regina, and Ave Maria. This page depicts the Ten Commandments. The manuscript is a mnemonic aid and not a rebus; each symbol is a semantic sign and illustrates a complex idea or meaning. For example, the man with his leg wrapped around a woman depicts the act of adultery in the 6th commandment, and covetousness in the 10th. Because each symbol can have multiple meanings, translation would be almost impossible if the material were not already known or, in this case, labelled at the top of each page in Quechua and occasionally Spanish. Since it is not phonetic, the text can be read by speakers of any language. Catechisms such as this one were used by Catholic missionaries to spread Christianity despite linguistic difficulties. This catechism would have been used to teach people who belonged to the Quechua-speaking community but could not necessarily read. The art represented in the book shows a clearly European influence on native culture. The capes, suits, and hats shown in the pictographs were common in Europe in the nineteenth century, and would have been brought to the Andes by the mid-nineteenth century.Purchased as part of the Huntington Free Library, 2004.
Buddhist Prayers. Gold paint, shellac and ink on palm leaves. Late 1800s – early 1900s.
Grand Tour souvenir reliefs with descriptions, 1820s.
Andrew Dickson White. Description of the Fine Arts collection, circa 1870s.
Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. William F.E. Gurley, circa 1930s.
William F.E. Gurley and Katherine Eberly Gurley were both patrons of the Cornell library system. William, class of 1877, was a geologist and charter member of the Geological Society of America. He was a well-known paleontologist, poet, and collector of art and books, despite being almost completely blind. The Chicago Art Institute is home to his extensive art collection, and Cornell is the lucky recipient of many of his books. He created a small book fund for the library in the 1930s in memory of his late first wife, and his second wife Katherine continued Gurley’s legacy after his death by donating hundreds of their books to Cornell in the 1940s. Among these donations were several handwritten Qur’ans and books on the Near East and Near Eastern languages.
Photograph of a Drawing Room in the Art Department, Sibley Hall.
Qur’an. Undated.
Gift of Mrs. William F.E. Gurley, 1944.