Modernism Foretold accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Georgia Museum of Art—an extraordinary assembly of objects dating from the third to the eighth century CE. The objects belong to the Nadler family, who are one of the most important collectors of Coptic art.
Coptic art was made by and for native Egyptians, Greeks and Romans who preferred both Christian and classical pagan themes. Both the exhibition and the catalogue focus on the collection’s history and on changing perceptions of late antique art from Egypt and feature an extensive full-page, full color illustrations, an essay by curator Asen Kirin, catalogue entries and a timeline of the collection. Katherine Marsengill, who wrote the catalogue entries for the book, received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in art history from the University of Georgia, where Kirin was her thesis advisor.
Marsengill is also the author of Portraits and Icons: Between Reality and Spirituality in Byzantine Art and has published numerous articles on early Christian art in late antiquity.
The accompanying exhibition is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art through Sept. 26.
