About the Exhibition

This landmark exhibition, organized to commemorate Fairfield University’s 75th anniversary, features artistic treasures from the Roman church of the Gesù never before seen in America: Bernini’s bust of Roberto Bellarmino (patron saint of Fairfield University), Gaulli’s monumental painted wood model of the apse, a gilt bronze altar sculpture by the versatile painter, draftsman and sculptor Ciro Ferri, the sumptuous jeweled cartegloria from the altar of St. Ignatius, and the magnificent embroidered chasuble of the church’s great benefactor, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. These masterpieces are joined by more than fifty paintings, sculptures, rare books, precious objects, drawings, prints, and historical documents by Bernini, Domenichino, Gaulli, Ciro Ferri, Carlo Maratti, and Andrea Pozzo, among other Italian Baroque masters, on loan from American museums and private collections.

Together these masterpieces tell the fascinating and intertwined stories of the church’s early history and splendid interior embellishment, and the foundational chapters of the Society of Jesus. The exhibition's narrative threads include the enviable patronage of the powerful Farnese family, who championed the cause of the new order and funded the building of the Gesù; the long and at times challenging campaign to suitably embellish its austere and barren interior and dedicate its principal altars; and the imperative to formulate a new imagery exalting and promoting the Order’s founders, Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, following their canonization in 1622.

This exhibition gives visitors to the museum an unparalleled window onto the extraordinary works of art found within the walls of the Gesù, the immensely talented artists who created them, and the powerful and strong-willed personalities whose vision, ambitions—and financial means—made it all possible.

Hover over the image and use the left and right arrows to navigate through the images or view the whole album

This landmark exhibition is made possible through the collaboration of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College; the Burns Library, Boston College; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; the Getty Research Institute; the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Morgan Library & Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the New York Public Library; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Princeton University Art Museum; the Yale University Art Gallery; and several private collectors.

Generous support for the exhibition, publication and related programs has been provided in part by the Center for Catholic Studies, Fairfield University, The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, Vanderbilt University, the Dianne Modestini Charitable Trust, PADA (Private Art Dealers Association), Charles Scribner, Christie's, New York, and a number of private benefactors.

Catalogue

The exhibition catalogue is the most significant book available in any language on the Church of the Gesù in Rome. Richly illustrated with 246 color images, the catalogue is comprised of thirteen essays by an international team of specialists in Italian baroque sacred art and religious culture followed by a checklist of the works of art in the exhibition.

Published by Saint Joseph’s University Press, Philadelphia, PA

Learn

The exhibition is organized in celebration of Fairfield University’s 75th anniversary and is complemented by a rich array of programs, lectures and special events, all free and open to the public (unless otherwise noted on the program registration page).

Media

Charles Scribner III
Bernini's Rome: The Eternal Feast

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Symposium:
Art of the Gesù

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Sacred Music in the Age of Bernini

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Gauvin Bailey
Art of the Gesù:
Bernini and his Age

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Evonne Levy
Inside the 17th-Century Gesù:
Jesuit History, Saints, Theology, and Science

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Gauvin Bailey

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Carey Mack Weber

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Philippe de Montebello

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Franco Mormondo

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Betsy Roscasco

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Xavier Salomon

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Charles Scribner

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Linda Wolk-Simon

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The audioguide to the exhibition is introduced by Linda Wolk-Simon (Frank and Clara Meditz Director and Chief Curator, Fairfield University Art Museum) and narrated by Paul Lakeland (Aloysius P. Kelley S.J. Professor of Catholic Studies, Fairfield University), with an afterword by Philippe de Montebello (Honorary Chair of the Exhibition Committee and Director Emeritus, Metropolitan Museum of Art).

In the Press

WSHU, "A Bernini Masterpiece Leaves Rome For The First Time—And Comes To Connecticut" →

Apollo, "The Jesuit Masterpieces Coming to Connecticut" →

Art Daily, "Major exhibition features artistic masterpieces from the glorious Church of the Gesù" →

The Art Newpaper, "How the wonders of il Gesù were transported to America" →

Fine Art Connoisseur, "Masterpieces from Rome’s Church of the Gesù" →

ArtsJournal, “Magnificent Gesu Exhibit: Ask and You Shall Receive” →

America, "The art of Jesuit Rome comes to Connecticut" →

Additional Information

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. We are closed for national and university holidays and during inclement weather.

The museum will be open during the university's spring recess March 10-18 and will be closed March 30-31 for Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Admission:

The museum is open to the public and admission is free.

Tours:

Public tours are offered daily at 12 noon; register here →. Gallery Spotlight talks are offered daily at 2 p.m; register here →. Private tours with a curator are available for a fee; please contact museum@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000 x4046.

Location:

The FUAM is located on the lower level of Bellarmine Hall on the campus of Fairfield University. For GPS please use the following address: 200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, CT, 06824

Reach Us By Car:

Parking:

Free parking available at the lot in front of Bellarmine Hall, as well as the lot in front of the Quick Center for the Arts on the campus of Fairfield University. Handicap parking is available next to the museum’s service and classroom entrance on the lower level of Bellarmine Hall.

Reach Us By train:

Take Metro-North, New Haven Line, to Fairfield Station (approximately 70 minutes from Grand Central Station).
www.mta.info/mnr
800-638-7646

For further information or to schedule a visit or tour, please contact

Fairfield University Art Museum
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 254-4046
museum@fairfield.edu

Museum Membership