Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Art
Classical Splendour
The Greeks had settled many parts of Sicily and southern Italy as early as the 8th century
BC, naming it Magna Graecia (Greater Greece) and building great cities such as Syracuse
and Taranto. These cities were famous for their magnificent temples, many of which were
decorated with sculptures modelled on, or inspired by, masterpieces by Praxiteles, Lysippus
and Phidias.
The Greek colonisers were equally deft at ceramics, adorning vases with painted scenes
from daily life, mythology and Greek theatre. Some of the most vivid examples are the 4th-
century-BC phylax vases, with larger-than-life characters and costumes that depict scenes
from phylax plays, a type of ancient southern-Italian farce.
In art, as in so many other realms, the Romans looked to the Greeks for examples of best
practice, and sculpture, architecture and painting flourished during their reign. Yet the art
produced in Rome was different in many ways from the Greek art that influenced it. Essen-
tially secular, it focused less on harmony and balance and more on accurate representation,
mainly in the form of sculptural portraits. Innumerable versions of Pompey, Titus and
Augustus all show a similar visage, proving that the artists were seeking verisimilitude in
their representations, and not just glorification.
Wealthy Roman citizens also dabbled in the arts, building palatial villas and adorning
them with statues looted from the Greek world or copied from Hellenic originals. You'll
find many fine examples of both in Syracuse's Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi, including
the celebrated
Venere Anadiomene,
a 1st century Roman copy depicting a voluptuous god-
dess of love. Status-conscious Romans didn't stop there, lavishing floors with mosaics and
walls with vivid frescoes. Outstanding mosaics live on at Sicily's Villa Romana del Casale,
Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples' Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Pompeii itself claims
the world's largest ancient wall fresco, hidden inside the Villa dei Misteri.
Click on to
www.exibart.com
for up-to-date listings of art exhibitions throughout Italy, as well as exhibi-
tion reviews, articles and interviews.
