KENT — Kent Art Association will host “Angel and Demon? Gian Lorenzo and Dan Brown,” a lecture and slide presentation by Dr Virginia Bush on Saturday, September 26, at noon.

There is a $10 fee and seating is limited. Call 860-927-3989 for reservations.

Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, like his DaVinci Code, has provoked widespread efforts to debunk the murderous conspiracies the books describe. In the art world, however, the author’s biggest offenses are seen by many to be his insults to the artists’ genius by replacing their creative accomplishments with fictitious anti-authoritarian scheming.

The sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini featured in the author’s breakneck thriller about a plot to disrupt a papal election are not only among history’s greatest masterpieces but are also compelling demonstrations of the artist’s strong Catholic faith. These sculptures are imaginative demonstrations of 17th Century Catholic doctrine and have nothing to do with the Illuminati—a later, short-lived movement.

A frequent visitor and sometime resident of Rome, Virginia Bush will talk about the real aesthetics and meaning of “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa,” the Four Rivers Fountain, and other works by Bernini, within the complex fabric of the city that surrounds them, and will illustrate their stylistic and ideological brilliance. 

Dr Bush earned degrees in art history from Wellesley Collage and Columbia University. She has taught at universities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and written about Renaissance and modern art. Her erudite and often witty talks are illustrated with original photographs.

The Gallery at Kent Art Association, where the lecture will be presented, is at 21 South Main Street (just south of the monument on Route 7).