An American Jesuit Treasury of Religious Art: The Van Ackeren Collection in the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University By © 2017 Loren Whittaker Submitted to the graduate degree program in the Kress Foundation Department of Art History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Co-chair: Anne D. Hedeman, Ph.D. Co-chair: Sally J. Cornelison, Ph.D. Douglas Dow, Ph.D. Philip Stinson, Ph.D. John Pultz, Ph.D. ____________________________ Heba Mostafa, Ph.D. Date Defended: 14 April 2017 ii The dissertation committee for Loren Whittaker certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: An American Jesuit Treasury of Religious Art: The Van Ackeren Collection in the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University Co-Chair: Anne D. Hedeman, Ph.D. Co-Chair: Sally J. Cornelison, Ph.D. Date Approved: 14 April 2017 iii Abstract On 13 October 1967 Virginia P. and Robert C. Greenlease donated a walnut crucifix by French sculptor César Bagard to Rockhurst University’s Jesuit community in Kansas City, Missouri. This gift initiated a collaboration of thirty years between Mrs. Greenlease and Rockhurst’s president, Father Maurice E. Van Ackeren, S.J. Together they sought to enhance the university and its students’ spiritual and educational experience by making fine religious works of art accessible for viewing on campus. Virginia financed the purchases that Father Van Ackeren made, the sum of which came to be known as the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art. Throughout their endeavor, the two took advantage of the expertise of the curators of the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City, Missouri (now known as The Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art) and employed that institution as an intermediary station for evaluating works before they were purchased. The majority of objects were acquired during the 1970s. This timing proved fortuitous for the assembly of the university’s collection, as museum-quality sacred works were available at fairly reasonable prices. The result for Rockhurst was a diverse collection of exemplary objects depicting religious subjects and/or with liturgical functions that date from the late medieval through the rococo periods. The works that comprise the collection are of Italian, German, Austrian, French, and Spanish provenance and their mediums range from lindenwood, polychromed wood, alabaster, and marble statues, to paintings rendered in tempera on wood panel and in oil on canvas and copper, as well as to works on paper, furniture, textiles, and silver. Many of the collection’s works are associated with known artists, but most have scarcely been considered with regard to those artists’ respective oeuvres. Painters and sculptors of Italian and non-Italian origins whose works are represented in the collection include Andrea di Bartolo iv (1360-1428), Gil de Siloé (c. 1450-1501), Francesco d’Ubertino Verdi, also called Il Bachiacca (1494-1557), Antiveduto Grammatica (1571-1626), Peter Strudel (1660-1714), Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746), Ehrgott Bernhard Bendl (1660-1738), Felix Planner (active 1690-1710), Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747), and Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770). The dissertation is divided into three sections. Part one chronicles the collection’s history and discusses the acquisition process, how choices were made in the selection of objects, which works were chosen, and what those decisions might indicate about personal taste, contemporary art market trends, and addressing the rationale for assembling a collection for educational purposes. Following the introduction is a catalog of the collection’s objects. The entries are divided into two categories: “Paintings and Works on Paper” and “Sculptures and Metalwork,” and each is arranged in chronological order. The contextual and iconographic assessment of these objects comprises the core of this study. v Acknowledgments Written in Honor of Virginia P. Greenlease, Father Maurice Van Ackeren, S. J., and Ralph T. “Ted” Coe This dissertation was made possible with the assistance and support of scholars, friends, colleagues, institutions, and family. I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Dr. Sally J. Cornelison, who has continuously served as an exemplar of mindful scholarship. With a prudent eye, steady demeanor, quick wit, and kind heart, she patiently guided me to the finish line. I also extend my sincerest gratitude to Greenlease Gallery director and Rockhurst professor Anne Pearce, who introduced me to the topic. Anne championed my efforts to research the Van Ackeren collection and, without her intervention, this study would not have been possible. Additionally, I want to thank my committee members for generously sharing their time and expertise with me and also my graduate and undergraduate professors, especially Professors Charles E. Eldredge, Randy Griffey, David Cateforis, Robert Cohon, Linda Stone-Ferrier, and Rochelle Ziskin, whose inspiration in the classroom led me down this art historical path. My travels to conduct critical archival and visual research at American Jesuit colleges and universities were funded through the generosity of Jim and Linda Ballinger, underwriters for the Eldredge, Stokstad, and Li Art History Travel Award, and Drs. Ted and Mary Johnson, sponsors of the Ted Johnson Interrelations of the Humanities and Arts Award. The curators of several American Jesuit collections, who graciously provided supplemental information regarding the collections they oversaw, include Jonathan Canning (Loyola University, Chicago), Lee Coppernoll (Marquette University, Milwaukee WI), Dr. Jill Deupi (Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT), Dr. Paul Manoguerra (Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA), Dr. Nancy Nester (Boston College), and Kittie Uetz (Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH). Further trips to conduct vi related research in museums, churches, and libraries in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands were made possible through the Kress Foundation Department of Art History travel fund and through teaching assistantships. Scholars to whom I express my gratitude for sharing information pertinent to my research include: Drs. Edgar Peters Bowron, Burton Dunbar, Susan Earle, Ashley Elston, Valja Evalds, Catherine Futter, Kathryn Gerry, Stephen Goddard, Robert La France, Genevra Kornbluth, Mindy Nancarrow, Famke Peters, and Stefan Roller; also Michael Rief, Chassica Kirchoff, Sarah Melching, Father Louis Oldani, S.J., and Gaylord Torrence; and for further investigative help, Ursula Hennig, Elaine Koch, and Peter Vogt. Additionally, I am sincerely thankful for the helpful assistance that librarians, archivists, staff, and administration provided, especially Lisa Cloar, Alyssa McDonald, Jennifer Mellenbruch, and Paul Anthony Thomas (University of Kansas); Marilyn Carbonell, Amelia Nelson, and Heather Wright (Spencer Library, Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art); and Cynthia Cartwright, Laurie Hathman, Lori LeVine, and Lavearn Shannon, whose smile keeps the library sparkling (Rockhurst, University). The path to this point was an arduous one. However, the unfailing support of friends and colleagues, such as Drs. Mindy Besaw, Karin Gastreich, Madeline Rislow, and Dale Urie, and office-mate Meg Blocksom, eased the journey. I am deeply grateful to my parents, Friedrich and Helga Gastreich, for their persistent belief in me and for instilling in me a disciplined work ethic, which served me well during this process. Most importantly, I thank my husband, Tom, and children, Grant and Gary, for their seemingly endless patience with this educational quest of mine. I dedicate this work to them, because, without their love, support, and encouragement, this dissertation would never have come to fruition. vii Table of Contents List of Figures viii List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 Part 1: The History of the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art 18 Part 2: Paintings and Works on Paper 59 Part 3: Sculpture and Metalwork 283 Bibliography 468 viii List of Figures Photo Credit: E.G. Schempf. Images courtesy of Anne Pearce and the Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Missouri. Catalog 1: Andrea di Bartolo, Madonna of Humility, c. 1410-24………………………………436 1.1: Detail, the Virgin Mary's dress collar……………………………………………..437 1.2: Detail, lute………………………….……………………………………………...437 1.3: Detail, upper left chorus of angels………………………….……………………..438 1.4: Detail, upper right chorus of angels………………………………………………439 Catalog 2: Francesco d’Ubertino Verdi, called Il Bachiacca, Madonna and Child with Infant Saint John, c.1518………………………………………………....................................440 Catalog 3: Antiveduto Grammatica, Saint Charles Borromeo Venerating the Holy Nail, c. 1612 …………………………………………………………………………………………..441 Catalog 4: Pietro Berrettini called Pietro da Cortona, The Birth of the Virgin, c. 1620-24…….442 Catalog 5: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, 1664……..443 5.1: Detail, the Immaculate Virgin's face and upper torso…………………………….444 5.2: Detail, three putti………………………………………………………………….445 Catalog 6: Francesco Trevisani, Madonna and Child with Saint Liborius, c. 1729…………....446 6.1: Detail, gallstones….……………………………………………………………….447 Catalog 7: Giuseppe Maria Crespi, called Lo Spagnuolo, The Holy Family, c. 1730………….448 Catalog 8: Giambattista Tiepolo, Saint Mark the Evangelist, c. 1732-33……………………...449 8.1: Saint Mark the Evangelist, with frame……………………………………………450