Thanks to a unique collaboration among several Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center entities as well as local museums and private collections, Memento Mori: Looking at Death in Art and Illustration will open at the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery in Cohen Memorial Hall March 12.
The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition will remain on view through May 23.
The pieces that make up the collection were selected using an interdisciplinary approach to provoke thought about the role of death and mourning in society from the 16th century to the present.
The collection is a rich display of material culture surrounding death and historical mourning practices, including a silk mourning dress dating from 1909, a simple tombstone carved by famous African American sculptor William Edmondson, and a death mask of the physiologist Jan Purkinje.
The oldest work in the collection is a second-edition manuscript by Andreas Vesalius, De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), dating from 1555. It was the authoritative book on human anatomy for several centuries.
Memento Mori was thoughtfully curated by Joseph Mella, director of the Fine Arts Gallery; Holly Tucker, professor of French studies and professor of biomedical ethics and society; Christopher Ryland, assistant director of Eskind Biomedical Library; and James J. Thweatt, coordinator for historical collections at Eskind Biomedical Library.
The Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery is on the second floor of Cohen Memorial Hall, located on the Peabody College campus at 1220 21st Ave. S. in Nashville.
Gallery hours now through April 30 are:
- Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, 1–5 p.m.
Gallery hours May 1–23 are:
- Tuesday–Friday, noon–4 p.m.
- Saturday, 1–5 p.m.
- Closed Sunday and Monday
For more information, visit the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery website, or call (615) 322-0605.