The Art of Transformation
dal 23/5/2007 al 5/1/2008
Segnalato da
23/5/2007
The Art of Transformation
National Museum, Stockholm
The group show, using materials from the museum's collections, demonstrates how Ovid's narratives have given artists and patrons materials for book illustrations, easel paintings, monumental ceilings, garden sculptures and much else. The yearbook published in conjunction with the exhibition presents the Latin author and his work. On view around 65 items. Curated by Ulf Cederlof and Borje Magnusson.
Ovid's Metamorphoses in Art
Curated by: Ulf Cederlof and Borje Magnusson
An exhibition in celebration of a work that has been influential in European art ever since the Renaissance.
Welcome to our introduction to mythological subjects in art as illustrated by the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses written about the years 2-8 AD. The work deals with Greek and Roman mythology, the Gods and their amorous adventures, and how they are able to transform their own appearance and that of others. The stories often reveal burlesque elements but are also replete with psychological insights and pathos. Drastic verbal expression and play on words lend extra spice to the narratives that have provided an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists. A certain familiarity with these stories is essential for our understanding of art created in Europe since the Renaissance.
Artists like Annibale Carracci with his frescoes in the Farnese Gallery or Titian and Poussin in their paintings of mythological subjects caught the spirit of the Metamorphoses though they often used adaptations or paraphrases of Ovid’s poems. Or they took their materials from handbooks of mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses were also an important source for the pictorial programme devised by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger for the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
The exhibition entitled The Art of Transformation. Ovid's Metamorphoses in Art uses materials from the museum's collections to demonstrate how Ovid's narratives have given artists and patrons materials for book illustrations, easel paintings, monumental ceilings, garden sculptures and much else. The Nationalmuseum’s yearbook, which is being published in conjunction with the exhibition, presents Ovid and his work.
The exhibition comprises some 65 items. Visitors will, for example, meet etchings by Antonio Tempesta, risqué drawings by Carl August Ehrensvärd, etchings by Carlo Cesio and Pietro Aquila based on Carracci’s trendsetting frescoes, as well as plates from Urbino. The first translation into Swedish of the Metamorphoses, dating from the 18th century, as well as an early French edition, have been borrowed from Kungl. Biblioteket, the National Library of Sweden.
Ovid and his Metamorphoses
The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – c.17 AD) are probably the most popular and widely read work from Antiquity. They consist of fifteen books comprising 11 995 verses of hexameters. The narrative starts with the creation at the beginning of time and stretches up until the poet’s own period. Ovid also wrote several erotic works, including the Ars Amatoria, which is a handbook on the art of love. The poet was sent into exile in 8 AD for, it is reported, transgressing the edict on public morals introduced by the Emperor Augustus. But whether this reason is the correct one is the subject of controversy.
The yearbook
The Nationalmuseum’s yearbook will be published in conjunction with the exhibition. The yearbook presents Ovid and his writings and describes how the Metamorphoses have been used in diverse contexts, how the often obscene love stories have been bowdlerized or even transformed into moralities. English summary.
Info curators:
Ulf Cederlöf
ucf@nationalmuseum.se
Nationalmuseum
Sodra Blasieholmshamnen - Stockholm