calendario eventi  :: 

X

21/6/2013

Fauno rosso

The Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City

Kansas City, MO. June 17, 2013–A spectacular example of ancient Roman sculpture will be on view at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City from June 22 through Sept. 29 in Kirkwood Hall. The Fauno rosso, a red marble sculpture of a satyr (also called “faun”), was given to the Capitoline Museums in 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV. It was commissioned by Hadrian, the great emperor of Rome and it was most likely sculpted by Aristeas and Papias of Aphrodisias in modern- day Turkey. The Capitoline is now lending the sculpture to the Nelson-Atkins.

The loan marks the beginning of a long-term relationship between the Nelson-Atkins and the Capitoline Museums, a group of art and archeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy.

“We are delighted to have this arresting masterpiece as it crosses the Atlantic for the first time,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, CEO and Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “The grandeur and the majesty of Kirkwood Hall is the perfect backdrop to appreciate and enjoy this work. It is an appropriate space that will transport us to the city of Rome, with whom we are launching this partnership and the start of a great relationship.”

The Fauno rosso loan is part of a broad program of exchanges and cultural events between Rome and the United States that was launched in Washington, D.C. in 2011 called The Dream of Rome. The program finds nowadays new support in Enel Green Power, the Italian company devoted to worldwide development of energy generation from renewables, which entered in a partnership with the Capitoline Museums, along with theKnights of Columbus. Through The Dream of Rome, some of Rome’s magnificent masterpieces will be on display in prestigious museums in the U.S. in cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

Claudio Parisi Presicce, Director of Capitoline Museums, commented: “We are thrilled and honored of the long-term relationship we are building with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, based on the awareness of the strong and ancient link between the American and the Italian people. Our relationship is just beginning and it appears to be extremely valuable as it will be a harbinger of joint activities and reciprocal cultural exchanges.”

The Fauno rosso raises a cluster of grapes in his right hand; he holds in his left a cudgel used by shepherds. A fawn skin tied at his right shoulder covers part of his chest and supports two pomegranates and a bunch of grapes. To his left a goat looks up at him and rests one leg on a wicker basket. To the satyr’s right is a supporting tree stump with shepherd’s pipes hanging from it. The Fauno rosso seems to have stopped midway in his stride as he excitedly turns his head up to the raised bunch of grapes. His mouth is slightly opened in delight and his hair is unkempt, a reflection of his wild nature. His left leg is extended and the foot turns to his left; his straight right leg supports most of his weight and so his right hip juts out suggestively.

“What a great privilege to have a work commissioned by one of the most powerful and most learned rulers in ancient history, the Emperor Hadrian,” said Robert Cohon, curator, Art of the Ancient World at the Nelson-Atkins. “This magnificent work was made for his personal pleasure and installed in his villa in Tivoli. Just as we see the sculpture today, Hadrian and members of his court would have seen it then. With this exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins, we cross enormous gaps of time and can enter into Hadrian’s world.”

Fauno rosso is sculpted out of red marble rather than the commonly used white marble. This suggests that the satyr has drunk so much wine that he is as red as the grapes he has consumed. Thanks to the support of sponsors like Enel Green Power North America and TradeWind Energy, the Fauno rosso exhibition will be open until Sept. 29, 2013.

Exhibition credit line:“Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Roma Capitale – Musei Capitolini.”
Sponsors: Enel Green Power North America, Tradewind Energy, and Polsinelli
The Dream of Rome was born with the close collaboration between Rome and the Catholic service organization Knights of Columbus, and, during the 2013 will be part of the “Year of Italian Culture” in the United States.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 33,500 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson- Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.

Imaga caption: Fauno rosso, Roman, 2nd century C.E. Red marble, 66 inches. Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Roma Capitale – Musei Capitolini.

For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:
Kathleen Leighton, Communications and Media Relations Officer
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
816.751.1321
kleighton@nelson-atkins.org

The Nelson-Atkins
45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO
Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday, Noon–5 p.m.
Admission to the museum is free to everyone

stampa

permanent link