Remembering Howard B. Eisenberg

eisenbergToday marks the seventh anniversary of the death of Dean Howard B. Eisenberg, on June 4, 2002. This means that Howard has been gone from the Law School longer than he was here, for he served as dean just a month shy of seven years. Yet, in some metaphysical but important sense, I do not believe him to be gone. His “ideals and [his] spirit,” to return to words that I used in 2002 (and that I borrowed from the opening page of the Marquette Law Review in 1916), continue to suffuse-indeed, guide-much of what Marquette University Law School does, even (or especially) with respect to initiatives that we have started since Howard’s death. To be sure, I appreciate that not all who read this blog knew Howard. Therefore, on behalf of the Law School, I warmly invite you to spend a few moments perusing the memorial issue of the Law Review that we published in 2002. It is a remarkable book, containing essays by more than 50 individuals who knew Howard in different parts of his life: the contributors were classmates, professors, fellow lawyers, judges, clients, university colleagues, relatives, students, and others. The memorial issue also contains several of Howard’s speeches, including “What’s a Nice Jewish Boy Like Me Doing in a Place Like This?”

My favorite words in the issue are not my own or even Howard’s. They come from Professor Walter J. Dickey of the University of Wisconsin Law School. Professor Dickey did not suggest that he had known Howard as well as had some of the other essayists. But, after recounting some common experiences, Professor Dickey captured this essential aspect of the man:

Here is how I would characterize these several interactions with Howard. While he was aware of the “politics” of issues, the core of his concern was with substance. His attention and talent were invariably focused on the substantive issue. He had a keen desire to discover what the right thing was to do and to do it. He was well prepared, and he always followed up with a high-quality execution of whatever idea required implementation. Not much for speeches, not a lot of noble talk. He just did. This was not just his job, this was his duty. He would do it as well, as honorably, and in as straightforward a fashion as he could. If some of the causes he advocated were out of favor in the brittle world of politics, he did not apologize or even explain why he was advancing the cause or position he stood for. His expectation was that others would and should know that what he did was to fulfill the responsibility of the legal profession. His expectations brought out the best in others.

While Howard surely had passion for what he did, it was his business-like, matter-of-fact, direct approach which most impressed me. He channeled his passion, his concern and caring for others, in ways that were likely to be effective for those he sought to help. Howard possessed the qualities of a good lawyer. No cause in which he believed was either too large or too small for his attention. For me, he is a model of the best in the legal profession.

I invite you to reread the quotation-there is much wisdom in it-and, particularly, to note the present tense in Professor Dickey’s final sentence.

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Art History Mystery, Part 2

figure-2In the previous post, I detailed how the figure to the left of Moses must be Sir William Blackstone. I had thought that the figure to the right of Moses was King Solomon. The iconography of the throne, crown, royal purple, and scales all point to Solomon. However, this figure is beardless, and artists have traditionally depicted Solomon as a bearded, often old, king (see, e.g., a ninth-century German illuminated Bible, and Renaissance depictions such as the panel of Solomon meeting the Queen of Sheba panel from Ghiberti’s famed “Golden Doors” of the Florentine Baptistry, and also the fresco by Piero della Fransceca in Arezzo). On the other hand, artists from later centuries did portray the famous ruler as clean-shaven (see, e.g., this 18th-century Russian icon, and an engraving by the 19th-century master Gustav Doré).

However, noticeably absent from the stained glass was any iconography of a sword (cf. ‘splitting the baby’ from 1 Kings 3:16-28). A fellow law student held that the figure was really King David.

One authority, though, holds that the figure is neither David nor Solomon. During his spring 2008 visit to the law school, Judge Pryor of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, who had identified Blackstone, offered Lady Justice as the likely candidate. This would account for the beardlessness, and the classic imagery of the scales is present. However, absent are the iconic sword and blindfold, and Lady Justice usually is not crowned. It’s a tough call. I welcome feedback to solve this art history mystery….

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Art History Mystery, Part 1

blackstoneAs I have always loved stained glass windows, one of my favorite locations in the law school is Eisenberg Hall. However, the trio of figures in the north set of windows bear no label, so I was curious about their exact identity. The center figure holding the stone tablets of the Law is of course Moses. Following this Biblical theme of lawgivers, I surmised that the figure to the right (as one looks at Moses) seated on the throne was King Solomon (more on the next blog post).  I also guessed that the figure to the left, in the judicial wig, was likely the 18th century jurist Sir William Blackstone. I also considered Sir Isaac Newton, as some images of Newton depict him with the typical 18th-century long wig and cravat (see e.g., the 1-pound note from the Bank of England). However, in these depictions, Netwon lacks the black robes that the figure in the stained glass wears. And while he divined the Laws of Nature, Newton would not be the most obvious choice for a law school library reading room (unless perhaps the artists were commenting drolly on the gravity of legal tomes).

As stained glass was the Scripture for the (often illiterate) medieval masses, I wanted to know for certain who the two figures flanking Moses were. Accordingly, within the first few weeks of Law School (September 11, 2007, to be exact), at an evening social in Eisenberg, I asked Dean Kearney, and he enjoined me with the task to find out.

Continue ReadingArt History Mystery, Part 1