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Art tour displays work with Passion

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By Jody Ferres | Monday, March 12, 2007 12:00 AM CDT | () comments

You can think of a Figge Art Museum program as a scrapbook of Jesus Christ’s life.

Ranging from the time of birth to the resurrection, Figge Art Museum patrons can gain a sense of understanding how several different artists have depicted “The Passion of Christ.”

Bettendorf resident Barb Hansen is one of several docents at the library. Along with Gloria Malooly, of DeWitt, Iowa, and Jean Moeller, of LeClaire, Iowa, Hansen spent hours researching the paintings and picking out 10 she thought depicted the life of Jesus.

“We really start out when he was a baby, with St. John the Baptist in with the Holy Family,” Hansen said. “Artists didn’t have photographs to use back then. They had to visualize in their mind how it had looked.”

Taking about five minutes per painting, Hansen describes several details that the typical museum visitor probably wouldn’t catch.

“If you look at the paintings, there is a common theme of washing feet,” said Hansen, pointing to a portrait of Mary Magdalene washing Jesus’ feet at the home of the Pharaoh to Jesus himself washing Peter’s feet at the Last Supper. “We’ve looked up all the Bible references and really feel we’ve done a great job of picking pieces that depict his life.”

Each of the 10 pieces of art is housed in the museum’s permanent collection.

An art enthusiast, Mary Mayer rode the bus all the way from Iowa City to see the tour and visit the museum.

“This was part of my Lenten thing to do,” Mayer said. “I am real interested in art history and art facts.”

This was the first time Mayer has seen the Figge, but she plans to return.

“I am so marveled by the museum. It’s so huge,” she said. “There are wonderful collections here. I’m really quite amazed at what Davenport has done.”

Although fewer than 10 groups have taken the spiritual tour in the last two weeks, Hansen is hopeful more people will inquire during the Lenten season.

“Others can really take advantage of other people’s education and get so much out of the paintings,” Hansen said.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.