MONTREAL.- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is hosting The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture. The final stop on a historic North American tour, this major exhibition brings together 57 lifelike marble sculptures: Roman statues, busts, and sarcophagi; stunning bas-reliefs; mythological creatures; and striking portraits of gods and goddesses, emperors, and their wives. These masterpieces are being shown in Canada for the first time.

THE LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTION OF ANCIENT ROMAN MARBLE SCULPTURES

The Torlonia Collection is one of the most important ensembles of ancient Roman sculptures still in existence. Assembled in the 19th century by the Torlonia family, most notably by prince and banker Alessandro Torlonia (1800–1884), who founded the Museo Torlonia in 1876, the collection rivals the Vatican and Capitoline museums in both quality and scope.

A true “collection of collections,” it was built thanks to excavations on former imperial estates and through a series of acquisitions of major holdings. It comprises 623 marble works (and a single bronze work) representing Roman sculpture from the Republic through the Empire periods. For much of the past century, access to these works has been limited: they were known primarily through 19th-century publications. After spending decades out of public view, the sculptures have now been restored and are finally being presented in all their splendour.

FROM ROME TO MONTREAL: A HISTORIC JOURNEY

The Torlonia Collection was kept out of public view from the closure of the Museo Torlonia in the mid-20th century until its presentation at the Capitoline Museums in 2020. It is now being rediscovered thanks to two international tours that brought it to the Louvre in 2024, and to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth this year.

After generating considerable enthusiasm in Italy, France, and the United States, a selection of masterpieces from this renowned collection will now make a stop
in Montreal. Featuring an original exhibition design by Stéphane Roy in collaboration with Carolina Bassani, this presentation offers a rare opportunity to see, outside Europe, the most prestigious private collection of ancient Roman sculpture ever gathered.

A GALLERY OF LARGER-THAN-LIFE CHARACTERS

The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture brings together 57 works of exceptional historical and artistic significance. Twenty-four of these pieces have been newly restored and are being shown publicly for the first time in over 75 years. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover sculptures from the Torlonia Collection, many of which were found on the family’s historic estates in and around Rome and
carefully preserved over generations. These exquisitely carved Roman characters span a period from the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority dating from the Antonine Period (1st–2nd centuries CE)—widely regarded as the zenith of the Roman Empire.

The collection includes exquisitely carved bas-reliefs, imposing deities and mythological figures, and powerful portraits—including the celebrated Maiden of Vulci. Once embellished with gold leaf, gemstones, and real earrings, the face of this funerary bust continues to move viewers today.

Visitors will also encounter the renowned Hestia Giustiniani, the only complete Roman marble copy of a 500-year-old Greek bronze. With its stiffly pleated peplos and solemn, frontal pose, it evokes the “Severe” style of 470–460 BCE, conveying strength and dignity. The exhibition further features one of the most studied ancient fragments in the world: a 3rd-century relief from Portus, Rome’s imperial harbour, on which traces of the original polychromy still remain.

SCULPTURES THAT BEAR THE MARKS OF TIME

One section of the exhibition will also shed light on the crucial role that restoration treatments have played in the life of these works over time, revealing how conservation can breathe new life into them—at times through the hand of renowned sculptors from the 17th to the 19th century. Among the examples on view is the celebrated Statue of a Resting Goat. While its body is ancient, its head, crowned with luxuriant curls, was added in the 17th century by a young Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the future Baroque master, at the request of the collector and banker Vincenzo Giustiniani.

“Fondazione Torlonia is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in Canada for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia family,” adds Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of Fondazione Torlonia.

“Fondazione Torlonia is delighted to present in Canada this important ensemble, which covers three centuries of collecting ancient masterpieces. This exhibition reflects not only the history of the artworks themselves, but also the legacies of their many owners: the centuries-old Roman aristocracy, acclaimed restorers, and visionary collectors. It exemplifies the ‘contemporary act’ of a long-standing principle underpinning the Torlonia Family’s practice of artistic patronage— for through art, people find their destinies to be intertwined, shaping not only what we see, but also who we become,” says Carlofla Loverini Bofla, Director of Fondazione Torlonia.

“Assembled by a lineage of princes, the Torlonia Collection offers a rare opportunity to experience the sensory power these ancient marble sculptures still radiate today. Visitors will have the chance to meet the gaze of Roman emperors such as Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, and Commodus, and to encounter Hercules, Bacchus, or Cupid as they walk among some of the most celebrated statues of Antiquity,” continues Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Arts and Archeology at the MMFA and responsible for the exhibition’s Montreal presentation.

CURATORS

Lisa Ayla Çakmak, the Mary and Michael Jaharis Chair and Curator—Arts of Greece, Rome and Byzantium, Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), and Katharine A. Raff, the Elizabeth McIlvaine Curator—Arts of Greece, Rome and Byzantium, AIC. The Montreal presentation is curated by Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Arts and Archaeology at the MMFA.