The Gosford Wellhead An Ancient Roman Masterpiece

The Gosford Wellhead is one of the most remarkable works of Roman sculpture to enter The Met collection in decades. This Bulletin traces the marble wellhead’s surprising journey to New York, beginning with its discovery in Ostia, Rome’s ancient port, in 1797, and including a long residence in Gosford House, one of Scotland’s most majestic private homes. The authors closely examine the marble wellhead’s superbly carved imagery of two Greek myths related to water: Narcissus and Echo and Hylas and the Nymphs. Uncovering impressive early restorations and featuring a modern technical analysis, this Bulletin provides a focused study of a singular masterpiece whose cultural history weaves from ancient Rome to the present day.

The first of a special two-part edition of Recent Acquisitions, this Bulletin celebrates works acquired by the Museum in 2019 and 2020, many of which were gifts bestowed in honor of the Museum’s 150th anniversary year. Highlights of Recent Acquisitions 2019–2020 include a sumptuous set of handscrolls depicting The Tale of Genji, a second-century Roman wellhead, a drawing of a landscape by French artist Claude Lorrain, and nearly one hundred Indian paintings. This publication also honors the many generous contributions from donors that make possible the continued growth of The Met's collection.

Portrait sculptures are among the most vibrant records of ancient Greek and Roman culture. They represent people of all ages and social strata: revered poets and philosophers, emperors and their family members, military heroes, local dignitaries, ordinary citizens, and young children. The Met's distinguished collection of Greek and Roman portraits in stone and bronze is published in its entirety for the first time in this volume. Paul Zanker, a leading authority on Roman sculpture today, has brought his exceptional knowledge to the study of these portraits; in presenting them, he brings the ancient world to life for contemporary audiences. Each work is lavishly illustrated, meticulously described, and placed in its historical and cultural context. The lives and achievement of significant figures are discussed in the framework of the political, social, and practical circumstances that influenced their portrait's forms and styles—from the unvarnished realism of the late Republican period to the idealizing and progressively abstract tendencies that followed. Analyses of marble portraits recarved into new likenesses after their original subjects were forgotten or officially repudiated provide especially compelling insights. Observations on fashions in hairstyling, which typically originated with the Imperial family and spread as fast as the rulers' latest portraits could be distributed, not only edify and amuse but also link the Romans' motives and appetite for imitation to our own. More than a collection catalogue, Roman Portraits is a thorough and multifaceted survey of ancient portraiture. Charting the evolution of this art from its origins in ancient Greece, it renews our appreciation of an connection to these imposing, timeless works.

Roman copies and adaptations of Greek sculpture / Seán Hemingway -- The decoration of house and villa / Paul Zanker -- Luxury art / Christopher S. Lightfoot -- Shrines of the lares and offerings to other divinities / Paul Zanker -- Roman Egyptomania / Christopher S. Lightfoot -- Tombs and funerary monuments / Paul Zanker -- Imperial and private portraits / Paul Zanker -- Gladiatorial games, sports, and the military / Paul Zanker -- Architectural elements / Paul Zanker -- A selection of Roman works and their modern histories / Joan R. Mertens.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Verdana} On July 20, 1969, half a billion viewers around the world watched as the first television footage of American astronauts on the moon was beamed back to earth—a thrilling turning point in the history of images, satisfying an age-old curiosity about our planet’s only natural satellite. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, this captivating volume surveys the role photography has played in the scientific study and artistic interpretation of the moon from the dawn of the medium to the present, highlighting not only stunning photographic works but also related prints, drawings, paintings, and astronomical instruments. Apollo’s Muse traces the history of lunar photography, from newly discovered daguerreotypes of the 1840s to contemporary film and video works. Along the way, it explores nineteenth century efforts to map the lunar surface, whimsical fantasies of life on the moon, the visual language of the Cold War space race, and work created in response to the moon landing by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Nancy Graves, and Aleksandra Mir. A delightful introduction by Tom Hanks, star of the award winning 1995 film Apollo 13, delves into the universal fascination with representations of the cosmos and the ways in which space travel has radically expanded the limits of human vision.