Dr. Jeffrey F. Hamburger, one of America?s leading mediaeval art scholars, will be the guest lecturer in the first of the new season?sPartnerRe Art Lecture Series at the Bermuda National Gallery next Tuesday.

Dr. Hamburger, who is the Professor of the history of art and architecture at Harvard University?s Arthur M. Sackler museum, will present the topic: ?The Medieval Work of Art: Wherein the Work? Wherein the Art??

The lecture is designed to be an introduction to medieval art and illustrated manuscripts as opposed to artistry in the modern sense, and discusses whether they should be seen as crafts or arts. Focusing on what, in the Middle Ages, were considered the archetypal works of art ? the Temple, Tabernacle, and Ark of the Covenant ? and using examples in various media such as manuscript illumination, stained glass, mosaics and metalwork, Dr. Hamburger?s talk argues that we do not have to choose between these alternatives. Rather than reading reception vs. production, the lecture will look at some of the ways in which medieval images structure what they themselves frame as the viewer?s experience. In so doing, it offers a new framework for understanding mediaeval art in general. Dr. Hamburger, a full professor at Harvard since 2000, has previously lectured at the University of Toronto?s department of history of art, and at the Oberlin College as the Irving E. Houck (Associate) professor in the humanities. He held a visiting professorship at the Erasmus Seminar, University of Notre Dame, on Image, Text and Context, in June 2005.

Harvard?s Arthur M. Sackler Museum houses some of the world?s finest collections of ancient, Islamic, Asian and later Indian art. A prize-winning author of numerous books and articles on medieval art, Dr. Hamburger?s most recent work is ?Tributes in Honour of James H. Marrow: Studies in Late Medieval and Renaissance Painting and Manuscript Illumination,? co-edited with Anne Korteweg (Turnhout: Brepols, 2006).

?We are truly honoured to have someone of Dr. Hamburger?s academic calibre visit Bermuda,? BNG director Laura Gorham said. ?We hope anyone interested in art history, and medieval art in particular, will take this rare opportunity to hear first hand from one of the subject?s most respected scholars.

?We are once again, extremely grateful for the continued sponsorship and support of PartnerRe. This is now the fifth season that the company has sponsored the art lecture series, and the fact that we are able to attract lecturers of Dr. Hamburger?s standing to the Island is a measure of how valuable that support is.?

Speaking on behalf of PartnerRe, corporate communications associate Jaime Masters said: ?PartnerRe is pleased to support the Bermuda National Gallery?s mission to promote, benefit and advance the visual arts in Bermuda. Education and the arts are important to both PartnerRe and the Bermuda community, and the PartnerRe Art Lecture Series shows that art, education, and community form a winning combination.?

The October 10 lecture will begin with a reception at 5.30 p.m. Tickets (BNG members $10, general admission $20) are available from the BNG. For further information on this and otherBNG events visit website www.bng.bm. For information on the Sackler Museum visit www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/sackler.