Baroque Art heads from Rome to Fairfield University for its 75th Anniversary

Gianlorenzo Bernini. The Bust of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmine, 1621-1624. Photo courtesy of iitaly.org.

Fairfield University (Connecticut) celebrates their 75th anniversary in 2018. To mark this milestone, Fairfield is hosting an international exhibition entitled: The Holy Name, Art of the Gesù: Bernini and his Age. The exhibition includes works from the Church of Gesù in Rome that appear for the first time in the United States. The show is viewable at the Art Museum in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries through May 19, 2018.

The Fairfield exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, books and historical objects by Bernini and his contemporaries. The exhibition features the design of the Church of Gesù and the history of the Jesuit order. One standout piece is Bernini’s bust of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino, the patron saint of Fairfield University.

Church of Gesù, 1568. Rome, Italy. Photo courtesy of iitaly.org.

Fairfield University was founded in 1943 by the Jesuits. Founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola, the Church of Gesù is the most prominent Jesuit church in Rome. The Church of Gesù is a very popular monument in Rome, as it is both a historical monument and houses extraordinary art. It was designed by Jacopo Vignola and Giacomo della Porta and is noted for its fresco on the ceiling by Giovan Battista Gaulli: Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Giovan Battista Gaulli. Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus, 1672-1685. Ceiling of the Church of Gesù, Rome. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org.

-Lauren Spinelli