A day at the Walter's Art Museum in Baltimore, MD

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 My day began with one thing in mind. "Today... I'm free from work. I'm going to go accompany my beautiful girlfriend to the museum to aid in a school assignment." Now what I was not expecting was that the feeling that I had not been to an art museum or gallery since my time living in Philadelphia. I was not prepared to be thrust back into a world of traditional art that I had long thought myself distanced from (having moved to digital art and illustration).

We arrive at the museum and the atrium is beautiful. Wall windows frame the entrance allowing you to still see the architecture of the surrounding buildings. We grab our map and information and begin our journey. We ascend to the second floor and I begin to tour the Sculpture Court as she views the Ancient World Section.

The Sculpture Court is magnificent. It is framed on either side by exhibition halls(one of which was closed, the other containing various arms and 17th century pieces. I immediately began snapping photos for use in study and a few personal shots just for myself, and the blog. All public photos from the day available on the Facebook

 

Bust of  Louis De Bourbon,
Called The Grand Conde'
1690's Jerome Derbais

To the left is one of the first pieces I immediately fall in love with. A bust of Louis De Bourbon. *Louis De Bourbon was technically Conde' from his father and later known for his exemplary military prowess as Le Grand Conde. The bust is a wonderful depiction of him in a heroic manner. Head turned up as to be looking to the sky or out onto the field. He adorns a  scale-mail vest and cape leading me to believe he engaged in combat as. Long sculpted curls flow (paintings reveal Bourbon had brownish locks). This particular edition is made of bronze. From what I've learned, Derbais was Louis XIV's official sculptor and the original of this piece would have been marble. The bronze casting means that this would have been a gift to another family or its friends.

  

Center: Standing Muse

Upon regrouping we both tackle "The Ancient World" with vigor, as I show the endless amount of pictures.  The set that really catches my eye next is a display of four female sculptures. The center piece being my focus as I explain that its a roman copy of a Greek sculpture. This came about an rant on the balance of the contrapasto and the delicate cloth modeling and how you can distinguish this particular piece as Hellenistic in style because of it.

I will end today's post with a few images of this sculpture. I took special interest in it as subject for my next digital sculpture study. 

 

Here we have an image of "Torso of An Emperor in Armor".

I grabbed several detail shots of this image (see below) to aid in my digital re-creation of the piece. The curaiss he wears is decorated with symbols of the Julio-Claudian Family. Similar insignia are scene on some sculptures of Augustus Caesar in armor. Some believe this bust was of Caligula who succeded Augustus. A fun note is that No Julio-Claudian emperor was a blood descendant of his immediate predecessor. 

Wikipedia describes the various relationships in detail:

"The great-uncle /great-nephew blood relationship and/or adopted son relationship was commonly found between the rulers of Julio-Claudian dynasty.

1. Augustus was the great-nephew and posthumously adopted son of Julius Caesar.
2. Caligula was the great-nephew and grandson (via the adoption of Germanicus) of Tiberius.
3. Claudius was the great-nephew of Augustus, as well as the nephew of Tiberius (and the only one of the five rulers to not be adopted).
4. Nero was the great-nephew and adopted son of Claudius.

The other recurring relationship between emperor and successor is that of stepfather/stepson, a relationship not by blood but by marriage:

1. Tiberius was Augustus's stepson due to the latter's marriage to Livia Drusilla. Tiberius and Drusus were the sons of Livia through her previous marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero.
2. Nero became the stepson of his great-uncle Claudius when the emperor married his niece Agrippina the Younger.

The uncle/nephew relationship also is prominent:

1. Tiberius, the older brother of Drusus, was Claudius's paternal uncle.
2. Claudius, the younger brother of Germanicus, was Caligula's paternal uncle.
3. Caligula, the older brother of Agrippina the Younger, was Nero's maternal uncle."

A selection of detail shots of the piece above for your viewing pleasure. I'll update soon with my next museum plans. Thanks for tuning in. If you'd like to discuss any of the above feel free to comment. Or if you have any information on a piece featured in the facebook album feel free  to comment so others can share in as well.

                               

       

 I'll update soon with my next museum plans. Thanks for tuning in. If you'd like to discuss any of the above feel free to comment. Or if you have any information on a piece featured in the Facebook album feel free  to comment so others can share in as well.