Torlonia Collection of Roman Sculpture

 A review of “Myth and Marble”, the Torlonia collection of Roman sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Germanicus, no date, bronze fragments, mostly plaster

Lots to see in this 19th C. collection of heavily restored ancient Roman marbles - and  it’s clear that the collectors, the Torlonia family, shared the ancient Roman desire for decoration, entertainment, status, and politics - even if gods and goddesses were being depicted. Nothing here, however, rises to the level of the Belvedere torso that came to Chicago about forty years ago.

The gesticulating figure shown above reminds us of how the republican ideals of western civilization differ from all the other mega-cultures. We want our leaders to convince us with words —- not clubs, swords, or guns —-even if it has always been “more honoured in the breach than the observance”. Only some parts of torso and leg are original, and like most of the heavily restored pieces in this exhibit, overall mediocrity is excused by the authenticity of fragments. 

Maiden of the Volci,  mid-first century BCE

A few pieces do stand out, however  - especially the portrait shown above - recalling the austere elegance  of Francesco Laurana or Charles Despiau.  As the Torlonia website declares:  “Its extraordinary stylistic peculiarity makes this female portrait one of the longest-examined and most discussed works in the Collection”

It comes alive and dominates the room - even from behind a heavy glass case.

..and rarely, for this show, it's 100% original,

in stark contrast to the following:

2nd Century

Gallery signage indicates how much of each piece is 

original (white), modern (blue), or ancient but from a different statue (purple).

In this conglomeration, only the head and torso of the child are original.  All three dogs were added more than a millennium later.  It’s charming - but like the work of the highly skilled fabricators who work for Jeff Koons - it’s no more than a joke.

Portrait of Hadrian, c. 130

A majestic imperial portrait that compares well with the example in the Art Institute’s permanent collection:

Hadrian - Art Institute of Chicago

Sensual and crafty

strong, fair, and determined

But the strange and menacing figures on his armor are the best part.

120-130

Several of the female portraits felt as eternally present as the famous encaustics from Fayum, Egypt

150 - 200

The show includes two large sarcophagi - each depicting the labors of Hercules

160-170.   

This is the better of the two,

but I’m doubting any of the 10-20 thousand other Roman sarcophagi

ever rose to the quality of the relief sculpture shown below:

Trajanic freeze on the Arch of Constantine, early 2nd century

The very best work was reserved for emperors.

Here’s what sat on top.

Neither ancient head is original,

but the male is so much a better fit than the female.

260-270

As you can see in the sketch above, this is the conglomeration of two ancient tubs-with-lions. I’d love to have it in my  own backyard.

Early 2nd century, Hestia Giustiniani

Wow!

This feels so much like Art Deco from the 1920’s

I’d expect to find it in the lobby of a movie theatre from that era.

….. and it’s almost entirely original.

Gallery signage tells that this is in a retro archaic Greek style

But as we see below,

it’s quite different:

Peplos Kore, 530 BCE

This piece, staring straight ahead,

was made to interact with a supplicant,

and it’s like a burning torch of energy.

It belongs in a temple,

the Roman variation belongs in a garden.

Mid-first Century BCE

A fine Republican head, not especially enhanced by the later torso

100-300 BCE, Greek or Roman

Karl Malden? Gene Hackman?

The closest this exhibit gets to Hellenistic naturalism.

The brim of the hat feels clumsy,

but it’s oh so hard for one sculptor to continue the style of another.

Young Marcus Aurelius, 144-47

Faustina the Younger, 160

Classical props for a  sword-and-sandals B movie

the Torlonia Nile,  late first century

Belongs in an amusement park 

**************

It’s no longer fashionable to augment ancient fragments with so much  modern addition,

 and maybe that’s a good thing.  Often it’s just distracting. But those 17th- 19th century sculptors were often quite skilled and enjoyable in their own right.

This is the museum’s third exhibit of European classical figure sculpture in 18 months - and I certainly am grateful.

**********

**********

Not my favorite pieces,

but we might note that this show has three nearly identical statues of Leda.

As found in

my online collection of Leda, the Prada and Getty museums have similar Roman pieces - and I dislike them all.  Is the draped arm supposed to hide the shame of an avian lover? Were they customarily used to decorate brothels? I suppose every village had one - and aesthetics was never  an issue.

Modersohn-Becker and the Horvitz Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago

Paula Modersohn-Becker, (1876 - 1907 )Reclining Mother with Child II, 1906

Death of Demosthenes 1805,  Georges Rouget (1783-1869)

I doubt the Art Institute of Chicago had any intention of mounting  these two shows simultaneously.

but they do complement each other quite nicely:

The world of men — the world of women

Public — private

Aristocrats — commoners

Theater stage — bedroom.       

Three dimensions — two dimensions    

Strong colors —  muted colors

 Dynamic, complex anatomy — blockish, simplified anatomy

Extraordinary—ordinary.      

Violence — nurture

Melodrama — no drama 

Historically, the one might well be understood as a strong reaction to the other,

especially with the examples of  French Neoclassicism as collected by Jeffrey E. Horvitz.

Evidentially, he had no interest in painterly quality except as it delivers overwrought melodrama.

Jacques Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784

We can’t blame Horvitz for collecting Rouget instead of the unavailable work of his master, David.  One  might attempt to characterize how the above differs from "The Death of Demosthenes" - but if you’re reading this blog, you already know. Rouget could render strong figures  but he had no talent for graphic design or narrative staging.  And the same might be said for the entire  Horvitz collection. 

The 2006 Girodet  exhibition at the A,I.C., however, proved, at least to me, that artists trained in French Neo Classicism could make masterpieces despite being  quite unfamiliar to contemporary American eyes.  I’ve posted some examples below:

Regnault, Judgment of Paris, 1820

Here’s Neo-Classical painting at its colorful, saccharine, well-staged best, even though the artist is neither David nor Ingres.

Jean-Germain Drouais (1763-1788). Marius at Miturnae, 1786

and here’s a much better variation by another pupil of David

Regretfully, Horvitz did not find work at this level - so no more attention need be given to his collection.

( Norman Bryson's chapter on French Neo-Classicism is discussed here )

Hilaire LeDru, Indigence and Honor, 1804

One more large piece from the Horvitz collection - if only to show that he did not limit himself to collecting Neoclassic subject matter or academy trained artists.

 **********

The Paula Modersohn-Becker exhibit, however, is fascinating.  Traditionally ( and  probably universally) motherhood  is the crowning achievement of a woman’s life. So it was no surprise that Mary Cassatt, one of the few pre-modern women to have a career in art, painted women with children. But what other names come to your mind? It seems that motherhood and a career in art have long been conflicting interests for women in the modern, and post modern world.

Elizabeth Catlett, 1956

There are, course, exceptions.

Here’s a small terracotta from the fifties

Rose Frantzen

Here’s a contemporary oil painting by the queen of Maquoketa, Iowa.

With the millions of  talented contemporary women around the world, there are bound to be many more good examples - but you will be challenged to find them in galleries or museums - and indeed, Paula Modersohn-Becker was probably an unfamiliar name to almost everyone who visited this exhibit. 

She did not make paintings about painting (Cubism) or about the challenged  psyche (Surrealism) or social justice (social realism).  She just depicted a healthy,  ordinary woman’s life, including her own She was a total outlier.

Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945)

Modersohn-Becker

Here’s how compares with a much better know woman of her era.

Self portrait with Two Flowers, 1907

Mummy portrait, Egypt, 120-140 CE

Here’s how she compares with a piece referenced by gallery signage. 

There’s less gravitas than Kollwitz and less eternity than the ancient  Fayum portrait. Taken from one of her letters, "I am me" is the title given to this show - and maybe we’d like to see her striving for something a little more.

But still …. there a competent and engaging presentation of her life spirit - something which is rarely found among contemporary artists unless it is non-objective.  It’s like what Van Gogh did - though not as powerful or delicious as that great visionary. 

Here are some of my other favorite pieces from the show, all of it pleasant and engaging as a unique point of view — but not quite as timeless and stirring as this sculptural monument by a friend commemorating her untimely death:

Bernard Hoetger (1874-1949 ) Mother and Child , 1907

Hoetger was one of the great sculptors of that period,  yet sadly he remains even more obscure than his subject.