I went to the Pompeii show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art tonight. Overall, a very satisfying exhibit.
I've never been much of a history buff, but became more interested due to several books I've read such as Colleen McCullough's "The First Man in Rome" -- a great historical novel. I also really liked the book called Pompeii by Robert Harris, which made the experience of being present during the eruption of Vesuvius quite real. And like a lot of people, I was very impressed with the HBO series, "Rome."
So I entered the Anderson building , and for once I tried out the audio tour. I'm definitely no fan of docents, and for most exhibits I'm not really interested in audio tours either, but in this case the brief statements and background music were soothing and informative.
This was a large show, maybe 150 pieces, which seem to be very high-quality, probably because many of them were lent by the Pompeii Museum in Naples. There was a nice mixture of large-scale marble and bronze sculptures, tabletop pieces, frescoes, and a few mosaic floors. What I like best, was a side gallery which contained a grouping of bronze animals which can only be described as charming. I was tempted to grab a coiled bronze snake sitting on the block of alabaster and run for the door. It was just so appealing. Nearby was a sculpture of a wild boar being pestered by two small dogs. The rendering of the fur of the former in bronze was sublime. Apparently, water once issued from the boar's mouth. I could easily imagine people living in that palatial home, loving these modestly scaled pieces, enjoying them perhaps for years. only to be buried with eruption of Vesuvius, hidden, then enjoyed again 2000 years in the future. Because the galleries were virtually empty, it was easy for me to feel a certain sense of possession my favorite artifacts.
Other pieces that pushed me back in time included a set of 4 to 5 inch tall bronze deities, and several fresco fragments displaying the exotic cuisine prepared for a banquet. The peak moment came in one of the last galleries, when I entered a triclinium, or dining room, with three incredible read fresco walls from a large building outside Pompeii. I could feel the presence of people sitting up against these frescoes, enjoying their food, catching the eye of one of the gods framed in the trompe l'oeil architectural settings. The room was really beautiful and had only recently been exhumed. It was in an area underwater, exposed by freeway construction, and therefore had to be removed from its original site. It was nearly intact, and it was great to be up to spend five or ten minutes in this room alone. There were a number of guards nearby, but since it was getting close to closing there were anxiously anticipating the end of the day, and yaking loudly in Tagalog, or something. Kind of annoying and unprofessional.
Time flew. I really enjoyed the whole show, which really needs about two hours, if you have any real interest in the art of this period. I would say the quality of the artworks was exceptional, the installation design with decent with very well done lighting, and a nice mix of objects in each of the galleries.
I'd recommend this show to anyone with an interest in Roman artifacts. Bear in mind it's $25 to get in, or $20 if you go after six. For me, it was very worthwhile, because so many of the objects spoke to me, and took me away to a different world.
The exhibition is up until October 4th.
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