Caligula in Color New
Courtney Morano, School and Family Programs Manager, VMFA
Briefly explore the life and reign of one of Rome’s most notorious emperors, Caligula! This talk will focus on new insights gleaned from a recent international symposium and research conducted on ancient coloration and the sculptural technique of a 1st-century sculpture of Caligula in the VMFA’s collection.
Available February 2013–July 2014
“It Comes to Life!” Hollywood’s Mummies New
Trent Nicholas, Statewide Media Resources Coordinator, VMFA
Ancient Egypt and specifically mummies have offered highly creative inspiration for feature movies. This presentation will provide film history background on the art and characteristics of this sub-genre and attitudes regarding “exotic” views of Ancient Egyptian culture. 1932’s The Mummy (79 min) with Boris Karloff will be shown with lecture.
An extra fee applies to this two hour program. Please contact Jeffrey Allison for details.
They Don’t Bite! How to approach Greek Vases New
Dr. Peter Schertz, Jack and Mary Ann Frable Curator of Ancient Art, VMFA
Many of us first encounter the art of the ancient Greeks through their vases. Though familiar to us, these apparently simple, functional objects often mystify and even baffle both the young and the old. In this lecture, Peter Schertz demystifies Greek vases by exploring how they were made and used, who made them and the significance of both their shapes and their decoration.
What Life was Like on the Nile New
Della Watkins, Chief Educator, VMFA
There is something about ancient Egypt that fascinates almost everyone. No civilization lasted so long, contributed so much or continues to amaze and delight audiences today. This presentation will offer a window into the life and times of Ancient Egypt through a richly illustrated overview of the objects of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ collection. Novice to amateur Egyptologists will enjoy the beautiful art detailing daily life, kingships, mummification practices, gods and goddesses and hieroglyphs.
Those Gaudy Ancients: Exploring the Color of Antiquity New
Dr. Peter Schertz, Jack and Mary Ann Frable Curator of Ancient Art, VMFA
We encounter ancient sculptures thousands of years after they were created and can readily imagine the complete form of these statues, despite missing parts and broken bits. But it is much harder to imagine something we hardly ever glimpse- color! Ancient statues were painted, often with bright, gaudy pigments. This lecture explores the color of ancient statues and how modern researchers are discovering surviving traces of those colors in order to recreate sculpture’s original appearance.