The exhibit “Witnessing Martyrdom: The Dramatic Art of Jan Luyken” is on display in the Musselman Library on the Bluffton University campus from 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays or by appointment Nov. 2 to 22. Photo by Erika Byler
By Erika Byler
An exhibit featuring a recently discovered copper-etched plate by Dutch artist Jan Luyken opened Monday in the Musselman Library. The display includes the Luyken plate as well as several books and documents important to Anabaptist history. Several forums and events will accompany the exhibit throughout November.
“The Martyrs Mirror,” also known as “The Bloody Theatre,” is a compilation of the martyrdom of Christians, with a special focus on the Anabaptists of the Reformation. The 1685 edition of the book was illustrated by Luyken. Each illustration was printed using a copper plate etching and told a different story from the “Martyrs Mirror.”
The copper-etched plate by Jan Luyken shows the wife of Jaques D’auchy when she visits him in prison before he was executed. Photo by Erika Byler
All 104 plates were accounted for before World War II, but all of the plates were believed to be melted down or lost during the war. According to the “Mirror of the Martyrs,” a newer book, 30 plates were rediscovered in 1975. After two years of negotiation, seven plates were purchased by American Mennonites in 1977. They purchased the other 23 in 1989.
The plate on display has been more recently discovered. According to the Mennonite World Review, it is unclear where the plate was before an antiques dealer contacted the Kauffman Museum in North Newton, Kan., in 2011.
“It’s sort of the latest saga in the whole late twentieth century rediscovery of at least some of the plates,” said Gerald Mast, professor of communication at Bluffton University.
Originally, the exhibit plan included all 30 plates currently residing at the Kauffman Museum. When it was discovered that no facilities would be available for the full exhibit, the plans were reduced.
Only the newest plate is on display in the Musselman Library this month.
“That plate lives in Goshen,” said Carrie Phillips, curator of the exhibit and archives and special collections librarian.
The Luyken plate (center) along with prints from the etching as published in different editions of “The Martyrs Mirror.” Photo by Erika Byler
The plate is one of Luyken’s many plates that show not the execution or torture of the martyrs but instead their relationships. It shows the wife of Jaques D’auchy when she visits him in prison before he was executed.
“It’s a love story. It’s a romance. It’s about family life,” Mast said, “It’s not the scene of execution…[It’s] of ‘God be with you till we meet again.’ ”
Though the Jaques D’auchy plate is the centerpiece of the exhibit, it is surrounded by other books and various copies of “The Martyrs Mirror,” both with and without the Luyken illustrations.
The exhibit opening and reception will feature Daniel Weaver-Zercher, author of “Martyrs Mirror: A Social History.”
Weaver-Zercher also presented the Tuesday forum, “Humanizing Martyrdom: ‘Martyrs Mirror’ and the Artwork of Jan Luyken” in Yoder Recital Hall.
The exhibit will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays Nov. 2 to 22 in the Musselman Library or by appointment.
The full exhibit of “Witnessing Martyrdom: The Dramatic Art of Jan Luyken” is on display in the Musselman Library on the Bluffton University campus from 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays or by appointment Nov. 2 to 22. Photo by Erika Byler
