The Treasures of the Holy Sepulcher: why Art still matters in times of war
Despite the war looming over the Holy Land, part of the team of the Terra Sancta Museum – Art & History traveled to the United States. Brother Stephane, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Terra Sancta Museum, and Claudio Domeneghetti, Project Coordinator landed in Texas in Forth Worth to attend the Press review and opening ceremony of the exhibition “The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem”, held at the Kimbell Art Museum on March 15.
On display until June 28, the exhibition brings together a remarkable selection of items from the Terra Sancta Museum – Art & History collection. These include paraments, liturgical objects, and over sixty extraordinary works crafted in solid silver, gold, and enamel, adorned with precious stones, as well as vestments richly embroidered with gold and silver thread. The exhibition was curated by Xavier F. Salomon of The Frick Collection, in collaboration with Benoît Constensoux and Jacques Charles-Gaffiot.
Crossing the Jordanian border and stopping in Paris along the way, the team ultimately made it to Texas in time for the press preview, which was led by Eric Lee, Director of the Kimbell Art Museum.
George Shackerfield,deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum, offered us his opinion about this opening:
“The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum” presents works of art that are rarely seen by the public anywhere outside the context of a religious ceremony. To be able to get close to the works, to appreciate the artistry of the goldsmiths and the textile artisans of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries is a real opportunity.
For the Kimbell, it’s an opportunity to display the kinds of ecclesiastical art that we don’t have in our collection, so it’s a new experience for most of our visitors.
Therefore another question raised around the collection, about why sacred art still matters in today’s increasingly secular world and what it can still tell the world:
“Our visitors, no matter what their faith, will appreciate the devotion that lies behind the creation of the works of art on view. It’s the devotion of the king and queen, emperor or empress, or the Catholic republic that commissioned the works in the first place. But it’s also the devotion of the artisans who made the tributes, of the goldsmiths, the sculptors, the designers, weavers, embroiderers of textiles.” – stated Shackerfield. “In short, everyone who made the works possible—that shines through their beauty as works of art.”
It is important for the Terra Sancta Museum to present these international travelling exhibitions. Much like the Frick Collection, the Treasure of the Holy Sepulcher collection reminds our followers, funders, and supporters of what the Museum is truly about: bringing the rich heritage preserved by the Custody of the Holy Land beyond its walls, so that it can be known and appreciated by the wider world. The many gifts offered by European kingdoms to the Custody over the centuries testify to an extraordinary artistic richness, remarkable craftsmanship, and a profound devotion to the safeguarding of the Holy Places. For this reason, we consider our travelling collections essential: they allow us to share a part of the Museum with the world, while continuing the Custody’s mission of protecting the Church’s heritage since the very beginning of its presence in the Holy Land.
In these troubled times, marked by conflicts all over the world, we, as a team, are compelled to ask ourselves what art can do in the face of war. Claudio, our Project Manager, stated firmly:“I believe that art is not only important in troubled and dark times, but truly essential. Art and culture are not mere forms of entertainment; they are the result of skill and intellect, of love and suffering, of faith and pain. In the human being, all of this finds expression in what we call art. We do not live by bread alone: we experience the world through our senses, our hearts, and our memory, and the soul -at the center of this experience—needs nourishment. This comes through the senses we have been given, and in reflecting the Creator, human beings also strive to create. In this way, art is born as nourishment for the soul. Just as light was created out of darkness, so too does humanity create its own light in times of darkness”.
And here it comes the mission of the Museum: “We want to preserve, display, and safeguard a particular kind of art: the one that shines and radiates beauty. The exhibitions we curate bear witness to this. What the TSM, Terra Sancta Museum, will preserve is beauty representing the finest expression of the deepest faith of artisans: rooted in Jerusalem, a city of death and life, a city of redemption.
Today, therefore, we are not simply creating a museum; we are creating a treasure chest that will show the world what faith in Christ has been -and continues to be- capable of creating, rather than destroying.”
