Wine and Spirit: Rituals, Remedies and Revelry

January 30–April 10, 2011 in the Grand Gallery 

Since its invention eight millennia ago, wine has been considered the elixir of the gods and the tonic of choice for ordinary mortals. Its uses range from religious to social to medicinal, with effects on the body and mind that run the gamut from spiritual elevation to physical and moral dissipation.

This traveling exhibition includes more than 100 objects that illustrate the transformative effects of wine. The earliest is a Neolithic wine jar dated 5400-5000 BCE; the latest, a 2009 painting by New York artist Leonard Porter. In between, works by 17th-century Dutch masters are featured alongside prints, drawings and photos by such artists as Honoré Daumier and Pablo Picasso. The show also includes Greek vases, Roman glassware, Renaissance vessels, rare books and manuscripts.

Of special interest to MAG audiences is a painting from the Gallery’s collection—a 17th-century Flemish Tavern Scene by David Teniers the Younger which traveled to Mount Holyoke to join the exhibition. In Rochester, the show will also be supplemented with 16 additional objects from the Memorial Art Gallery collection.

This exhibition was organized by the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, MA, with support from the Warbeke Art Museum Fund and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum Friends of Art. In Rochester, it is underwritten by the Estate of Irving Germanow, with additional support from Bob and Joanne Gianniny, ESL Federal Credit Union, and an anonymous gift in honor of Nancy Holowka and Karen Stolt.

Preview selected images

Listen to Warm 101.3 FM’s Kevin Gillan interviewing MAG Curator of Education Marlene Hamann-Whitmore about Wine and Spirit.

Read the press release

Public programs

• Exhibition Opening Party January 29
• Lecture:  Exhibition curator John Varriano on “Wine, Life and Death” January 30
• Lecture: Dr. David Goldfarb on “Wine and the Therapeutics of Age-Related Diseases” February 3
• Wine in Ancient Times: A Historical Tasting March 13 at MAG
• Wine in Ancient Times: A Historical Tasting March 23 in Canandaigua   CANCELED
• Lecture: Dr. Patrick McGovern on the origins and ancient history of wine March 31

Especially for Educators

• Wine and Spirit February 9

Pictured: Théodor Rombouts, (Flemish,1597–1637), A Drinker with a Flask. Whitfield Fine Arts, London.