Clark Art Hosts Talk on Ruben's Dionysian Environments

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 pm, the Clark Art Institute's Research and Academic Program presents a lecture by Jesús Muñoz Morcillo (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / Michael Ann Holly Fellow) examining Peter Paul Rubens's use of Dionysian and materialistic traditions, focusing on their connection to nature and their impact on environmental depictions.

The talk takes place in the Manton Research Center auditorium.

According to a press release:

It has been said that Rubens's visual references to Dionysian motifs are related to his stay in Rome in the years 1600 to 1608. However, Rubens's compositions of wet, wild, and vibrant environments surrounding Bacchic scenes transcend visual references to plastic archetypes. Indeed, Rubens seems to draw on specific ancient sources, including not only Dionysian descriptions found in authors such as Euripides, Propertius, or Nonnos of Panopolis but also Epicurean natural philosophy. An ecocritical comparison of Rubens's Bacchic motifs with landscape paintings aims to clarify whether his "entanglements" of myth and nature may have stood closer to a materialist tradition than a stoic awareness of the natural world, as is frequently assumed.

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. For more information, visit events.clarkart.edu.

Williamstown Board Opts to Negotiate with College on Water St. Lot

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:04AM / Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Newly elected board member Nate Budington, far left, participates in his first in-person meeting along with, from left, Matt Neely, Stephanie Boyd, Peter Beck, Shana Dixon and Town Manager Robert Menicocci.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday decided to enter into negotiations with Williams College on the sale of the vacant town-owned lot at 59 Water St.

 

But the board members made it clear that the college's proposal to acquire the lot is a starting point, not a final deal that the elected officials would accept.

 

"For the sake of continued conversation, I'm in favor of [awarding Williams the site], but if this process wasn't continued with the opportunity for further negotiation, I wouldn't vote to continue this," Peter Beck said. "I think that next step is necessary for us to get to a yes on this."

 

"I think there's wide agreement on that," Matthew Neely said just before the 5-0 vote to enter talks with the college.

 

Williams was the sole respondent to a town-issued request for proposals to develop the former town garage site, currently a dirt lot.

 

The college's stated intent is to build a new Facilities office and create up to 170 parking spaces at 59 Water Street. That use will allow the college to redevelop the current Facilities building site and parking lot as part of a reconception of the school's indoor athletic and recreation facilities.

 

Under the terms of the RFP, the college's proposal was subjected to review by an ad hoc advisory committee to the town manager, who brought the question to the Select Board. That board will have the final say on any purchase and sales agreement.