Fragmentary Colossal Head of a Youth, Greek, Hellenistic Period, 2nd century B.C. Marble, H. 22 7/8 in. (58 cm). Berlin, Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (AvP VII 283)
© SMB / Antikensammlung
‘Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms’ at the Met ‘Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World’ brings together over 265 objects created through the patronage of the royal courts of the Hellenistic kingdoms, with an emphasis on the city of Pergamon. Metropolitan Museum, April 18 – July 17, 2016.]]>
Source: Metropolitan Museum
After the military triumphs of Alexander the Great and his successors, the influence of Greek culture was felt from the Indus River valley to the Straits of Gibraltar. The concentration of wealth and power in the newly established Hellenistic kingdoms—the Ptolemaic, Seleucid, Attalid, and Antigonid—and the sovereign realm of the kings of Syracuse in Sicily fostered an unparalleled burst of creativity in all of the arts. The melding of Classical Greek with predominantly Eastern cultural traditions brought about new standards and conventions in taste and style.
The exhibition begins with Alexander, whose court sculptor Lysippos was one of the most innovative and influential artists of his time. He alone was permitted to create official portrait sculptures of the king. Although no works by Lysippos survive, the exhibition features fine later copies, as well as Hellenistic art influenced by his groundbreaking style. A series of large-scale portraits of major Hellenistic rulers from the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum—never before shown in the United States—represents the largest group of Hellenistic royal portrait sculpture from a single archaeological context. In addition, recently excavated works from Macedonia suggest the sumptuous lifestyle and elaborate funerary practices of Hellenistic royalty.
With its extensively excavated upper and lower citadel, nearby Asklepieion (healing sanctuary), and graves outside the city walls, Pergamon is one of the best-preserved examples of a royal capital of the Hellenistic period. A selection of historical archaeological materials—original finds, a field notebook, photographs, technical drawings, and watercolors—as well as two 19th-century panoramic paintings convey Pergamon’s long history as an archaeological site. The exhibition features the most recent effort to bring the ancient citadel to life, a 360-degree panorama by the artist Yadegar Asisi. Many years in the making and reflecting current scholarship, Asisi’s panorama of Pergamon in 129 AD was the focus of a 2011 exhibition in Berlin. The patronage of the Hellenistic kings led to the development of new institutions—libraries and museums, in particular—that have become pillars of modern civilization. The concept of art history and the practice of connoisseurship also began at this time. Pergamon’s sanctuary of Athena, goddess of wisdom, is represented by the 13-foot Hellenistic marble statue of Athena Parthenos, newly restored for this exhibition. The importance of the epic poet Homer in Hellenistic times is highlighted by means of the allegorical sculptural relief known as the “Apotheosis of Homer,” which was made to celebrate the victor of a poetry competition.
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