Skip to Content
The white marble lid of a sarcophagus featuring life-size sculptures of a robed man and a woman reclining together, each propped up on their left arm and facing the viewer. The man has his arm protectively draped over the woman's shoulder. Small cherublike figures flank the couple. The white marble lid of a sarcophagus featuring life-size sculptures of a robed man and a woman reclining together, each propped up on their left arm and facing the viewer. The man has his arm protectively draped over the woman's shoulder. Small cherublike figures flank the couple.

Dear Member,

To Our Community

Share


When I first entered the storerooms of the Torlonia Foundation in Rome in 2021, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

By <a href="https://www.artic.edu/authors/164/lisa-ayla-cakmak" rel="author">Lisa Ayla Çakmak</a>

There, huddled together, were over 600 ancient Roman sculptures not seen by the public since the wake of World War II. Having longed to view these works for the entirety of my career, I had to pinch myself to be sure it wasn’t all a dream. 

Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, opening to members March 13, marks the first time a selection of these works, held under the private care and study of the Torlonia Foundation, will be shown here in North America. So much more than just a group of sculptures, the Collection is a palimpsest of history; its objects date back as far as the fifth century BCE and bear restorations by leading 17th-century sculptors and modern-day conservators alike. To better understand these works, my colleague and co-curator Katharine Raff and I traced their paths through some of the lesser-known parts of Rome: We traipsed along archaeological sites at the Via Appia Antica accompanied by a herd of goats; took in the hexagonal harbor and the foundations of warehouses in Portus, Rome’s ancient port; and walked the halls of the former Villa Albani, an incredible palace built to showcase the sculptures of cardinals and princes.

This spring, I invite you to embark on your own journeys of discovery in our galleries. In addition to the Torlonia marbles, you can explore works by Frida Kahlo—on display at the Art Institute for the very first time—and trace her career across the Atlantic with Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds. The drawings and prints in Lines of Connection will take you through four centuries to discover the fascinating interplay of these artistic mediums. And En el principio / In the beginning, an immersive installation incorporating sacred organic materials native to the Northern Colombian Amazon, brings the opportunity for a more spiritual journey as you contemplate the roots of creation. Whatever you find on your next visit, I hope it inspires in you the same childlike wonder and excitement I always feel in my encounters with truly spectacular art.

—Lisa Ayla Çakmak, Mary and Michael Jaharis Chair and Curator, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Photograph of a woman, Lisa Ayla Çakmak, with dark curly hair in an updo, light-colored skin, and a ruffled blue-gray blouse. She stands in an art gallery, ancient vessels and sculptures in plexiglass vitrines behind her.

Share

Also in this Issue

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms