The bedrock of classical Western art, Greco-Roman mythology comes to Taipei’s National Palace Museum in a new exhibition of artifacts on loan from several French museums, including the Louvre.
Many of the sculptures, paintings and murals on display in Western Mythology and Legends — A Special Exhibition From the Louvre Museum are fundamental to any introduction to the development of Western art. The works, collected together around a number of themes, provide a forum for new perspectives on these often familiar images.
This special exhibit comprises 10 prized works from the Louvre, as well as items loaned from six other French institutions: the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Tours; Musee des Beaux-Arts de Dijon; Arras, Musee des Beaux-Arts; Musee Ingres, Montauban; Roubaix, La Piscine — Musee d’Art et d’Industrie Andre Diligent; Musee National des Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon.
Photo courtesy of Media Sphere Communications
The show confirms just how far the National Palace Museum has come as a venue for exhibitions of an international caliber.
The display area provides ample space for each individual exhibit, as befits both the level of detail and the importance of the works; extensive introductions are provided for each of the five themed sections of the show; and there is a wealth of information to take in.
It is a great boon for expatriate residents of Taipei that for this exhibition, guided tours for groups of 20 or more will be available in English (booking two weeks in advance required. For enquiries, call (02) 6630-8388). An excellent catalog and audio guide are available in Chinese.
Photo courtesy of Media Sphere Communications
The stories built around the Olympian gods, their predecessors and many children, have been popular for more than two millennia, and in that time they exerted a powerful influence on artists.
Even for those unschooled in the classics, characters such as Poseidon, lord of oceans, and Venus, goddess of love, are familiar references, and the exhibition opens a door to great tales of their many deeds.
“Mythology has molded every aspect of Western thought and has permeated our language. This is why we believe that these fascinating stories from Greco-Roman mythology and literature should be shared with Asian audiences,” Henri Loyrette, President-Director of the Louvre Museum said in a statement about the exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Media Sphere Communications
The exhibition is presented in five segments: the formation of the world, the gods of Olympus, love and lust among the gods, the age of heroes, and a concluding section showing the influence of these epics throughout Western history.
Following the stories is one way of enjoying the exhibition; another is to marvel at the transformation of Western art from the heyday of ancient Greece to the 19th century, ranging from the sedate murals from ancient Pompeii of the 12 muses to the high drama of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica.
Given the nature of much Greco-Roman mythology, there are lots of depictions of martial valor as well as erotic dalliance, and the exhibition is tangentially also an exploration of how the human body has been depicted through the ages.
Photo courtesy of Media Sphere Communications
The subtle eroticism of Artemis of the Chase stands in sharp contrast to the rococo voluptuousness of Francois Boucher’s Apollo Revealing His Divinity Before the Shepherdess Isse.
The many representations of the human form, the variety of narrative devices, the playfulness and the frank salaciousness that appear in this exhibition mean it is easy to be overwhelmed by an abundance of possibilities. But the curators have done an excellent job in giving form to the many ideas at play in these art works, and what they have created certainly warrants an extended visit.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at