#phidias

Rome (2005)

from november 2023 to may 2024 at villa caffarelli, part of the capitoline museums, an exhibit entirely dedicated to phidias, the famous sculptor behind the parthenon and the chrysoelephantine colossi of the athena parthenos and zeus of olympia.

the exhibit is composed of a selection of more than 100 works, from archaeological finds to paintings and manuscripts narrating the life and work of the artisan, with the support of reconstructions, multimedia installations and digital content.

the exhibition is the first of a series of five exhibitions, "i grandi maestri della grecia antica". in addition with the artworks coming from museums in rome and other italian institutions, the exhibit contains some extraordinary loans, items that have never left their museum premises, as for example two fragments from the parthenon frieze, from the acropolis museum in athens.

Image of the Greek Sculptor Phidias showing his friends the Frieze of The Parthenon, 1868, oil on panel, 72.5 x 109 cm (28.5 x 42.9 in) Birmingham Museums Trust, painted by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912). Notes (English): Painting shows at left the North frieze slab XLVII and the West frieze Slabs I and up visible at right in the Parthenon; Among the spectators, critics have identified Pericles, the bearded man facing Phidias. Next to him is his mistress, Aspasia. In the foreground stands a youth, Alcibiades, with his lover, Socrates; The painting is currently housed (2021) in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Alcibiades, with his lover, Socrates.[2][3][4]

[File:1868 Lawrence Alma-Tadema - Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends (cropped).jpg]

Other version: Detail, Socrates and Alcibiades

References >

[1] See Parthenon Frieze Slabs at [1] Last accessed 07-Apr-2007

[2] "[S]undry prominent Athenians, including Perikles with Aspasia, and Socrates with young Alcibiades, perambulate the scaffolding . . ." Nigel Spivey, Understanding Greek Sculpture, p.152

[3] "he introduces us to Phidias showing the frieze of the Parthenon to Pericles, Alcibiades, and Aspasia;" in SCRIBNERS MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 1895, LAURENS ALMA-TADEMA, R.A. By Cosmo Monkhouse; p.670 Photo of page in the Cornell Library http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?ammem/coll=moa&root=/moa/scri/scri0018/&tif=00678.TIF&view=50&frames=1

[4] "Little is actually known of the life of Phidias, but Alma Tadema's picture easily convinces us that thus the great sculptor displayed to his friends and patrons his completed handiwork. Phidias himself, standing within the rope barrier, seems to await the favorable verdict of his illustrious protector, Pericles, who confronts him and has at his side the beautiful Aspasia. The young man at the extreme left seems meant for Alcibiades, who has also accepted an invitation to this private view of the frieze of the Parthenon, seen not as we now behold it in the British Museum, but with its match-less figures glowing with the tints just laid upon it by Phidias and his fellow-workers." in Among the Great Masters of Painting: Scenes in the Lives of Famous Painters; Walter Rowlands p.2

Source details and larger version.