Visions of the Great Goddess: The Divine Female in
South Asian Art
August 28, 2004, through March 13, 2005

Seventeenth-Century Dutch Tiles from the Museum's Collection
September 18, 2004-January 9, 2005

SAN DIEGO—The cultural and artistic significance of goddess imagery in South Asia is the focus of a new installation, opening August 28, of sixteen rarely exhibited paintings from the San Diego Museum of Art's Edwin Binney 3rd Collection. Titled Visions of the Great Goddess: The Divine Female in South Asian Art, the exhibition is accompanied by a small display of related sculptures from South India, including a newly acquired Chola period bronze of the Goddess Devi.

Also opening, on September 18, is Seventeenth-Century Dutch Tiles from the Museum's Collection, a rare display of 240 examples from SDMA's extensive collection of Dutch domestic tiles. To demonstrate the pictorial sources for the tiles' imagery, the exhibition will feature a selection of twenty Dutch engravings, including the debut of several works from a major recent gift of northern mannerist prints.

Visions of the Great Goddess: The Divine Female in
South Asian Art
Terrifying, beautiful, powerful, and benevolent, female deities, which appear in thousands of different manifestations, are all forms of the Great Goddess, Devi, the First Cause of Things. The San Diego Museum of Art's internationally renowned Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of more than 1,400 paintings from India is particularly rich in spectacular images of female deities in many forms, encompassing a wide diversity of religious traditions.

The transformation of the Great Goddess from the mother figure of antiquity to a deity of great cosmic power was achieved through the 5th-6th-century Indian text, Devi Mahatmya (Glory of the Goddess), which dramatically changed the worship of this female principle. Its vivid narrative gave birth to new ways of seeing Devi and served as inspiration to generations of Indian artists. From glorious 17th-century devotional images made for meditation to a pair of delicately painted book covers from Nepal, the diverse images of Devi brought together for this installation emphasize her powers and untold strength.

The works in this exhibition focus on the Great Goddess in four aspects: as a great power, as a bestower of fortune, as a beloved, and as a human saint. In some paintings, Devi is seen as Radha, Krishna's adored consort; in others, she is Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. By presenting both the most powerful and fierce aspects of Devi—Durga and Varahi—as well as the less potent, human manifestations, such as female ascetics or yoginis, viewers can fully experience the compelling dynamism and visual power of the Great Goddess.

SDMA Debuts its New Bronze Goddess
To supplement this display of paintings from the Binney Collection, the Museum is installing a small group of sculptures from South India in the upper rotunda. One of the highlights is an important recent acquisition, an exquisite Chola period bronze sculpture of Shri Devi, which dates to ca. 1100.

Exemplifying the Chola tradition of figurative sculpture, the two-foot tall figure appears both powerful and sensual, blending grace with a strong physical presence. The light flexion of Devi's torso, the elegance with which the right arm descends parallel to the sinuous form, and the gesture in which the left hand is held—as if delicately pinching the stem of a lotus—are all grounded in classical Hindu iconography. Such figures would be ritually dressed in a temple setting and were carried in processions during seasonal festivals.

Seventeenth-Century Dutch Tiles from the Museum's Collection
A new exhibition opening September 18, titled Seventeenth-Century Dutch Tiles from the Museum's Collection, explores aspects of Dutch culture during the Golden Age using the rarely exhibited and relatively unknown medium of domestic tiles. On view for the first time in many years, the installation of 240 tiles will look at the history of tile making, their use in Dutch households, their meanings, and pictorial sources, such as prints.

The San Diego Museum of Art's extensive collection of tiles numbers nearly 400 examples and represents a wide diversity of subject matter, including biblical themes, mythology, flowers, birds, as well as pastoral, military, genre, and maritime scenes. More than simple wall covering and decoration, these blue-on-white tiles functioned as instructive or emblematic programs in Dutch homes. Like paintings and drawings, tiles also conveyed messages of national pride, taste, and sophistication.

To demonstrate the pictorial sources for these subjects, the exhibition also presents a selection of Dutch prints. Works of art by leading artists of the day were used, whether the tile painter adapted an entire image or merely extracted a detail from a larger composition. Some of the prints on display suggest types used by tile makers; others, such as Gillis van Scheyndal's Maiden from Zijpe and Jacob de Gheyn's Musketeer, are direct models. The exhibition also includes an interactive computer kiosk to aid in the identification of the subjects in the tiles.

Major Gift of Northern Mannerist Prints
Several of the prints included in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Tiles from the Museum's Collection are part of a recent donation to the Museum by Norman Leitman and Todd Butler of 198 northern mannerist engravings. The works, which were produced between 1579 and 1612, offer a wealth of subjects, including mythological and biblical scenes, nudes, portraits, allegories, and landscapes. There is a particular strength in prints in series, such as depictions of the senses, the elements, the times of day, and the seasons. The donation comprises examples by Hendrik Goltzius, Jacob de Gheyn, and Jacob Matham, while adding Nicolaes Clock, Jan Saenredam, and Cornelis Bloemaert to the roster of artists represented in the Museum's collection.

Request high-res images by contacting Chris Zook at (619) 696-1946 or cszook@sdmart.org.

Exhibition Hours
Tuesday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Exhibition Prices
Adults $9; seniors (65+), young adults (18-24), students and military with I.D. $7; children (6-17) $4. Children 5 and under are free.

Museum Information
San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 122107
San Diego, CA 92112-2107
General Information: (619) 232-7931 / Facsimile: (619) 232-9367
Group Sales: (619) 696-1915
Web site: www.sdmart.org

The historic San Diego Museum of Art provides a rich and diverse cultural experience for more than 400,000 annual visitors. Located in the heart of beautiful Balboa Park, the Museum's nationally renowned collections include Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings, and 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. In addition, the Museum regularly features major exhibitions of art from around the world, as well as an extensive year-round schedule of supporting cultural and educational programs.

Back to Top