OKLAHOMA CITY.- The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will be the final North American venue for Roman Art from the Louvre, June 19 through October 12, 2008. The sixteen-week exhibition, so large it will occupy the Museum’s ground floor special exhibition gallery and the eight second floor galleries of the Museum, will feature 184 works, some weighing more than 6,000 pounds. An unprecedented exhibition of ancient masterworks, drawn from the Louvre’s unparalleled collection, it provides a rare and historic opportunity for Oklahoma audiences to view these magnificent works, many of which have not been seen by the public in decades and most of which have never traveled to the United States. Furthermore, many of the objects in the exhibition have recently been restored, bringing to light their original beauty and strength of expression.
“Hosting a monumental exhibit drawn from the collection of one of the world’s preeminent art museums is an unprecedented opportunity,” said Mayor Mick Cornett. “Not only does it carryout the Museum’s goal of bringing great works of art to our city, which our citizens may otherwise not see, but it also showcases Oklahoma City as a destination of world-class stature.”
Organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Musée du Louvre, and selected by Daniel Roger and Cécile Giroire, curators in the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities Department at the Louvre, the exhibition features masterworks that highlight the diversity of artistic production that characterizes Roman art. These exceptional pieces date from the early first century B.C. to the 6th century A.D. Included are a variety of monumental sculptures, sarcophagi, marble busts and reliefs, bronze and terracotta statuettes and implements, jewelry, glass and metal cups and vessels, mosaics, fresco paintings and a cache of more than one hundred major silver pieces from Pompeii.
“The Louvre, thanks to Napoleon’s megalomaniac interest in the glories of Ancient Rome, has one of the finest collections of Roman art outside of Italy,” said Hardy George, Ph.D., chief curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. “The exhibition of sculpture, jewelry, mosaics, and frescos will be scrupulously arranged in a thematic manner that will certainly be visually and aesthetically pleasing as well as historically informative.”
The exhibition examines the manifestations of Roman public and private life through an exploration of several themes, including religion, urbanism, war, imperial expansion, funerary practices, intellectual life, and family. Roman Art from the Louvre shows the full range of Roman artistry and taste, juxtaposing “official” art with more modest, private works. Roman Art from the Louvre traces the genealogy of the four main Roman dynasties including the Julio-Claudians, the Antonines, the Severans, and the family of Constantine, through an examination of works made between the first century B.C. and the early fourth century A.D. These works illustrate the evolution of aesthetics, as well as the changing social influences under the Roman emperors, who exerted both secular and religious powers.
The diverse artistic influences from the various far-flung regions of the empire are presented in the first section, “Introduction to Rome and Its Empire.” Among the items shown are contemporary renderings of ancient Roman cities, monuments, and landscapes—among them, the Forum of Trajan and the villa Hadriana—by J. C. Golvin, a draftsman and archaeologist noted for his stunning recreations of ancient sites.
Featuring portraits of the emperors Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Severus, and Maxentius, the large section titled “The Emperor and His Surroundings” focuses on the evolution of taste, aesthetics, and society under the Roman emperors. The ways in which the political and economic powers of the emperors influenced art production across four dynasties are evident in artworks ranging from life-sized marble statues and portrait busts to small bronze figurines.
The exhibition also examines the concept of civitas, or citizenship, and its ramifications, and includes a section devoted to non-citizens of Rome: foreigners, freedmen and slaves. A rich grouping of stelae, friezes, and lamps depicting these heroic figures will be a component of this section as will a varied selection of ceramics and mosaics, included to illustrate production techniques and also to represent the working conditions of servants, peasants, slaves, harvesters, craftsmen, and tradesmen.
The portrait busts of anonymous men, women, and children featured in “The Roman Citizen” reveal the styles and fashions popular during the Roman Empire. Clothing, hairstyles, jewelry and other accessories, perfume bottles, and cosmetics are examined within the greater context of the role of women in the Roman Empire. Other topics addressed include the art of Roman portraiture; the Boscoreale treasure; and Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli and the Maritime Theater.
“Religion and Death” is the final section of the exhibition. Encompassing official religion, private cults, and magic and the cult of mystery, religion had a complex and important role in imperial Rome. The importance to the Roman people of being remembered after death and reminded of the dead is illustrated through a selection of extraordinary monuments with inscriptions, names, and images of the dead. Among the many highlights of the exhibition are busts of prominent Roman leaders including Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, and Agrippa; statues of Isis, Venus, Minerva, and Bacchus; early depictions of theatrical scenes, portraits of actors, and theatrical masks; military diplomas and army medallions; sarcophagi, urns, and related ritual objects; military diplomas and army medallions; imperial rings, necklaces and earrings; household objects; and relief sculptures depicting scenes from Tivoli.
