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Two
Pompeii exhibits
are currently on display in the United States:
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1. A Day in Pompeii
- features eight body casts, or plaster molds of the cavities
left by the victims' bodies, depicting the people of Pompeii in their
final moments of life. It looks at
life in this ancient town leading up to the eruption of AD 79 and
the aftermath of the tragic event and features a number of
plaster casts, artworks, ornamental objects, and other
archaeological discoveries.
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- The exhibit can be
seen at:
- Discovery Place
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- July 11, 2008, through January 4,
2009
General admission
prices for the exhibit: $20 for adults (14-59); $18 for seniors
(60+), college students 9with ID), and members of the military; $14 for children
(2-13). For information about member rates and exhibit times,
please follow this
link to the Discovery Place.
After the exhibit closes in Charlotte,
it will apparently be shipped back to Italy for
refurbishment before going on the road again to (among other
places) Melbourne, Australia, and Liverpool, England. The Victoria
Museum in Melbourne, Australia, will present the exhibit from June 26 to October
11, 2009.
2. Pompeii and the
Roman Villa:
Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples
features 150 works of
sculpture, painting, mosaic, and luxury arts that
were used in the lavish villas built in Pompeii and
its surrounding suburbs. The exhibit is spread among
fourteen rooms, each thematically organized.
Visitors will see:
- portraits (and
possessions) of the home owners in the first
three rooms;
- statues,
fountains, sculptures, and frescoes from
Pompeiian courtyards and gardens in the next two
rooms;
- the frescoed walls
of a triclinium (summer dining room) from
Moregine in the sixth room;
- sculpture,
statues, and frescoes that reflect a Greek
influence on Pompeiian homeowners and artists in
the next group of rooms;
- and, after its
rediscovery, the way Pompeii affected and
inspired painters, sculptors, jewelers and more
in the last three rooms.
- The exhibit can be
seen at:
- National Gallery of
Art, Washington, DC
October
19, 2008–March 22, 2009
The exhibit is free
of charge.
A 360-page catalog
(with 312 color and 53 b&w illustrations) will be available
for $60.00 (hardcover) and $40.00 (softcover) in October 2008. To
order, call (800) 697-9350 or (202) 842-6002; fax (202) 789-3047;
or email mailorder@nga.gov
If you missed the
other Pompeii exhibits, you will not want to miss this one, since
many of the items shown in it are on display for the first time in
the United States. If you were able to visit one of the other
Pompeii exhibits, you will discover many more items on display.
Only a few vintage photographs of the plaster casts are included
in the exhibit.
After the
exhibit at the National Gallery of Art closes, it will
move to the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art where it will be
displayed from May
3, 2009 to October 4, 2009.
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TEACHERS &
LIBRARIANS: For information about scheduling a
school or library visit (which includes his Pompeii
PowerPoint), contact author
James M. Deem.
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Tales from an Eruption
which included 12 plaster and resin body
casts ended its U.S. tour in Houston on June 22, 2008. It has gone back to Italy
now, and apparently some of the objects included in the
exhibit are going to be part of the National Gallery's
new exhibit on Pompeiian villas (see above).
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