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The Georgetown List:
10 Fascinating Works in the University Art Collection
Many alumni fondly (some perhaps not so fondly) recall spending long hours in Lauinger Library while at Georgetown. Despite all that time spent in the stacks, you may have missed the Special Collections section on the fifth floor. Housed there is the University Art Collection—a diverse collection of paintings, sculpture and objets d’art that has been assembled through the generous gifts of alumni and friends. Here are some highlights from the collection that are worth seeing.
Michael Wolgemut
Dance of Death
1493
Woodcut leaf from The Nuremberg Chronicle
7.5 x 8.75 in.
Library purchase, 2010
This piece appears in The Nurnberg Chronicle, the first book to be printed in Europe that documents human history according to the Bible and covers the history of several important European cities. This image has been particularly influential in the history of visual art. It serves as a reminder of mortality and the human condition and is arguably the most famous in the series by Wolgemut.