2023-11-24 07:00:00
Time.news – The greatest Greek sculptor of the classical age, COMPENSATION. Protagonist of Periclean Athens, his name is known to all for the creation of works such as the Parthenon and its sculptural decorations and the mythical chryselephantine colossi of Athena Parthenos and Zeus of Olympia, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. His creative genius has left an indelible mark on the collective imagination and continues to be a source of inspiration for contemporaries.
A very important figure, almost legendary, although surrounded by an aura of mystery. Many details of her life are in fact little known and knowledge of her work is based mainly on replicas and literary sources.
The. opens in Rome show “FIDIA”, open until 5 May 2024 at the Capitoline Museums – Villa Caffarilli in Rome, is the first monographic exhibition dedicated to the artist.
Promoted by Roma Capitale, Department of Culture, Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and curated by Claudio Parisi Presicce with the organization of Zètema Progetto Cultura, Main sponsor Bulgari, official Radio Radio Monte Carlo, it will guide visitors on an unexpected and surprising journey into life , in the career and historical-cultural climate in which the great sculptor worked, through a vast and precious selection of over 100 works – including archaeological finds, Greek originals and Roman replicas, paintings, manuscripts, drawings, some exhibited for the first time.
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The exhibition inaugurates a cycle of five exhibitions, “The Great Masters of Ancient Greece“, aimed at making the main protagonists of Greek sculpture known to the general public. A cycle that is even more significant in Rome, the city from which come very important testimonies of Phidias’ activity and his rediscovery from the Renaissance onwards, through the precious Roman copies of original masterpieces that have mostly been lost.
“We are delighted to host nei Capitoline Museumsone of the most important museums of Rome Capital, the first monographic exhibition dedicated to Phidias, the greatest sculptor of the classical age – declares the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri – His extraordinary artistic contribution not only defined the canons of classical art but also had a profound impact on modern and contemporary aesthetics, influencing artists of all subsequent eras. I thank the numerous Italian and international museums and institutions who contributed to making this exhibition unique with their loans.”
“We have decided to inaugurate the cycle of exhibitions on “The great Masters of Ancient Greece” with a monographic exhibition dedicated to Phidias, considered, already in ancient times, the greatest sculptor of all time. He was recognized as having the qualities of maiestas and pondus, beauty and majesty, the ability to appropriately render even the divine nature of the Gods – declares the Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce – Endowed with an eclectic and versatile personality, as well as artistic qualities out of the ordinary he possessed great organizational skills, so much so that Pericles, in the Athens of the 5th century BC, decided to entrust him with the complex renovation works of the Acropolis and in particular the delicate role of “episkopos”, “superintendent”, of the Parthenon construction site ”.
“It’s an honor for Bulgari – states CEO Jean-Christophe Babin – to share one’s origins with a unique artist like Fidia and support such a prestigious exhibition. An ideal journey from Greece to Rome that reminds us of that of our great founder, Sotirio Bulgari. Phidias was without a doubt the Athenian artist who was able to embody the spirit of his time better than others. Masterful for the balance and symmetry of his works, a symbol of classical Greek art that we are proud to welcome to Rome in a unique place like that of the Capitoline Museums. The bond between Bulgari and art is increasingly indissoluble and nourishes our vision on a daily basis.”
The exhibition itinerary is divided into 6 sections: The portrait of Phidias; The age of Phidias; The Parthenon and the Athena Parthenos; Phidias out of Athens; The legacy of Phidias; Opus Phidiae: Phidias beyond the end of the ancient world.
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Show Phidias
In addition to works from the Museum System of Rome Capital – Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini, Museum of Ancient Sculpture Giovanni Barracco and Museum of Rome – and from important Italian institutions, such as the Archaeological Museum of Bologna, the Academy of Fine Arts of Ravenna, the Archaeological Museum of Naples and the Cambellotti Archive, the exhibition boasts loans from the most important museums in the world, including: Acropolis Museum, National Archaeological Museum and Epigraphic Museum of Athens; Archaeological Museum of Olympia; Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna; Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; Vatican museums; Louvre Museum and Rodin Museum in Paris; Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen; Staatsbibliothek and Staatliche Museen, Antikensammlung Berlin.
In some cases these are extraordinary loans, i.e. works that have never before been released from their museum locations, such as the two original fragments of the Parthenon frieze, more precisely a fragment from the north frieze with a hoplite, a “Greek soldier”, and a fragment from the south frieze with youth and bovine, exceptionally granted by the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Added to these are two other original fragments with knights and bearded men coming from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Among the other finds on display, we highlight the vase engraved with the writing “Pheidiou eimi” (I am from Phidias) from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, one of the rare personal objects that belonged to a famous figure of antiquity and have come down to us; the replica of the shield of Athena Parthenos, the so-called Strangford shield – a Roman-era copy in Pentelic marble of the original belonging to the statue of Athena made of gold and ivory and placed in the cell in the Parthenon – from the collection of the British Museum; two bronze statuettes representing the figure of the craftsman (perhaps also identified with Phidias himself), exceptional loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina, in Greece; the head of Athena Lemnia in marble, an Augustan copy of a Phidias original, from the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna; the Hamilton Codex 254 (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin), a fifteenth-century manuscript containing the first image of the Parthenon to arrive in Europe. Of great interest is the loan of the so-called Carrey notebook (1674) from the French National Library, in which the decoration of the Parthenon before the explosion that destroyed it in 1687 is reproduced. Also proposed is a model of the temple of Zeus in Olympia created in 1997 by M. Goudin, a partial reconstruction in lime and walnut wood, lent by the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
© Zetema
Show Phidias
Also to support visitors multimedia installations and digital contents: in the third section, dedicated to “The Parthenon and the Athena Parthenos”, the unique opportunity is offered to be transported back in time and to relive the visit to the monument through the Phidias and the Parthenon installation. An interactive and engaging experience inspired by virtual reality and augmented reality models.
On the one hand, the scenographic plan is made up of a large photorealistic projection that reconstructs 3D Acropolis and Parthenon and allows the user to fly around the temple, changing the sunlight throughout the day, from dawn to dusk; on the other, atouch interface it offers a sort of “x-ray” of the Parthenon and access to all the scientific insights, such as the exploration of some architectural details.
Among the collateral activities within the exhibition, the Capitoline Superintendence confirms its commitment to accessibility issues, with a program of integrated guided tours accompanied by LIS – Italian Sign Language – interpreters – thanks to the collaboration of the Social Policies Department, Management Personal Services of Rome Capital.
Visits for visually impaired and blind people will soon be available upon reservation upon request. Models were loaned from the “Omero” State Tactile Museum and a plaster cast from the School of Ornamental Arts of Rome Capital taken from the head of Athena from the Palagi collection, now in the Civic Museum of Bologna, which was chosen for the poster of the exhibition.
Finally, to accompany the exhibition, the “Fidia” catalog published by Bretschneider’s «L’erma». Essays edited by Claudo Parisi Presicce, Riccardo di Cesare, Giovanni Marginesu, Massimiliano Papini, Nikolaos Stampolidis, Alessandra Avagliano, Annalisa Lo Monaco, Elena Ghisellini, Eugenio La Rocca, Eloisa Dodero.
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