I went up to LACMA today; they are having a Pompeii exhibit there through October 4th. Some of the loot they dug up in Herculaneum and Pompeii is there.
After going to LACMA for the Dali exhibit a couple years ago, and visiting the Getty Villa (modeled after the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum) a couple times, I have to admit this special exhibit was underwhelming for me. There were a few pieces I really thought were great though.
Bust of Caesar - yes, there was a marble bust of Julius Caesar there. The realism of the Roman and Greek sculpture always takes my breath away. It's as if you can gaze into the face of the man, and he gazes back into you. He doesn't seem like the kind of fellow one could easily get along with.
Plato's Academy - some mosaic artist assembled this fantastic piece together, each tile smaller than my pinky nail.
Aphrodite - there were several life-size sculptures of Aphrodite/Venus on display. There's something in the beauty of depicting the female form in marble, a hard material, in a way that preserves the soft form and clothing. It's absolutely amazing to me.
There is a fresco depicting Apollo that was my favorite piece of the exhibit. The fresco was in a house or inn that was underwater, and fortunately the fresco was able to be removed and preserved. They were able to save almost three walls of this fresco that decorated a dining hall. Really fantastic.
At the exhibit gift shop, I noticed a magnet with the phrase, "Momento Vivre" (to live in the moment). Because once the moment passes, it is gone forever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment