Ancient Roman Sculptures Offer Time Portal at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is set to transport visitors back to ancient Rome with the opening of The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture this Saturday. This remarkable exhibition features 57 marble sculptures, including statues, busts, and sarcophagi, providing an unprecedented North American debut for this significant collection.
A Journey Through Time and Space
Visitors to the exhibition may experience what feels like an out-of-body journey as they gaze into the captivating eyes of these ancient works. The sculptures possess a striking physicality that makes them feel remarkably lifelike, even when depicting mythological figures like Aphrodite, Hercules, or Cupid, alongside emperors, their wives, and upper-class citizens immortalized by their families.
"There's a spectacular mirror effect," explains Laura Vigo, the MMFA's curator of Asian art and archaeology, who oversees the Montreal presentation. "We see people who have transcended time and are still here. The way they're placed and postured makes you feel like they're about to move, but they're not, creating this illusion intrinsic to Roman sculpture."
The Torlonia Legacy
These works originate from the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures, assembled in the 19th century by prince and banker Alessandro Torlonia, who founded Museo Torlonia in 1876. The complete collection comprises 623 marble pieces and one bronze artifact that remained largely inaccessible to the public for decades, primarily known through printed publications.
Following restoration efforts after being closed since the Second World War, the collection is now being shared with audiences worldwide. Montreal represents the third and final North American destination for this exhibition, following successful showings at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Living with Sculpture
According to Carlotta Loverini Botta, director of Fondazione Torlonia, the exhibition offers insight into how Romans historically lived alongside sculpture as part of their daily environment. "What I think is really interesting about the exhibition in Montreal is the mise-en-place so we can understand how these sculptures are seen in Rome and how we Romans live with sculptures all the time, every day, every time we leave the house," she notes.
To Botta, these sculptures represent "an extraordinary example of beauty, the idea of perfection at the time, balance and proportion but also values," conveying Roman societal ideals of love, family, resilience, modesty, and dignity that continue to resonate in contemporary times.
Revealing Restoration History
A particularly enlightening aspect of the exhibition involves diagrams that illustrate which portions of each sculpture are original and which were added during various restoration periods. This innovative approach, suggested by Lisa Ayla Çakmak, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, creates a composite history showing how each piece was viewed, treated, and modified across different centuries.
"There is a materiality to the marble that really transmits the gestures of the artist that once carved it," Botta observes, "and there is an empathy that is a connection from that artist many centuries ago to us."
Educational Context and Preservation
The MMFA enhances the visitor experience through evocative wall texts that provide detailed information about each piece and its original historical context. Vigo hopes the exhibition helps people understand not only the artworks themselves and their historical presentations but also the meticulous preservation efforts that have maintained them through the ages.
"These sculptures were carved, painted, seared, cherished and taken care of," she emphasizes. "All this, we keep on doing. This is an incredible opportunity to show this amazing collection, but also for the Montreal public to appreciate this."
Exhibition Details
The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture will be on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from Saturday through July 19. The exhibition represents a unique opportunity to engage with masterpieces that once adorned ancient Rome as commonplace elements of everyday life, described by scholars as the city's "other" population that echoed and framed the lives of its citizens.
