The heroic tradition: art and the mythic journey ; an exploration of the Toledo Museum of Art galleries PDF
Preview The heroic tradition: art and the mythic journey ; an exploration of the Toledo Museum of Art galleries
• August 2001-January 5, 5, 20(j|! The Journey Continues-Wftfil ' f *>t- Herojc M • * • Art and the Mythic Journey An exploration of the Toledo Museurn..Qf Art galleries The Heroic Tradition neverycountryand in everytime,peoplehavetold storiesabout heroes and their adventures. No matter where they are told — — or whom they are about,these stories called myths usually sharecertainthemesandcharacters.Suchthemesandcharac- ^ tersshowwhat peopleall overtheworld considerimportant about being human. I Stories about heroes have always been popular subjects for art. It's not surprising,then,that much ofwhat is in ^, theToledoMuseumofArtshowsepicheroesand hero- I ines and the trials they endured. Come with us I through the Museum's galleries and learn the " timeless appeal ofthese legendarytales. »< H V. ft# H *t. m ^1 i% _._,.valker,PodraceCostume,PhotographbyGary MortensenforIheexblbttonStarWars:TheMagicofMyth. StarWars"*and©2000byLucasfilmLtd.AHrightsreserve< The Hero's ifillin ^ rom Herculesto LukeSkywalker,from KingArthurto Harry Potter, every mythic hero follows a similar pattern. Even before his real adventures begin,thehero isusuallyidenti- fied as exceptional. His birth is foretold in legends. As a child the — hero is often raised by foster parents his true parents might be royaltyorevengods.Afterthechildsurvivesseveralattemptson his life,hesets offtofind his rightful place intheworld. — — The hero begins his journey called a mythic quest with a call to adventure. He makes a few trusted friends that join in his adventures.The hero must battle evil in a varietyofdisguises, res- cue a princess, and face his own inner demons.After he triumphs, theheroreturnshome.Alongtheway,theherogainsawiseteacher, a protectivetalisman,and a greaterunderstandingofjustice. The hero's victory usuallyfrees his people from literal or symbolic slavery.Afterhereturnshome,hemarriestheprincessandbecomes the leader.Attheend ofhis lifethe herooften dies mysteriouslyor is betrayed bysomeone hetrusts.Yeteven after his death, legends persistthatthe herowill return when his people need him most. Thejourney begins in Gallery with the exhibition i Heroic Tradition Art and the Mythic Journey Tofindeach workofart,lookforthissymbolnext tothelabelasyou walkthough thegalleries Penslyle Galleryi Jacques-Louis David French,1748-1825 TheOath oftheHoratii Oiloncanvas,1786 PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1950.308 In manymythstheheromustriskhis lifeforthegood ofhissociety.Toprovethatheisworthy,theherooften swearsthat heiswillingtolaydown his lifewhile defendingothers.Thestoryofthis paintingisset duringthewarbetween Romeand itsneighboring cityAlba Longa.ItdepictsthethreeRoman Horatii brothersswearinganoathtotheirfatherthatthey willfighttothedeathagainstthreeAlban brothers. OnlytheyoungestHoratii brothersurvivedthebattle todeclareRomethevictor. Gallery1 Arthur Hughes British,1832-1915 Ophelia Oiloncanvas,about1865 PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1952.87 In mosttraditionalstoriesabout heroes,women have oneoftworoles:theyareeitherdamselsindistressor aretragicallylostwhentheherofailstounderstand hisquestortheprincess'srolein it.Ophelia isatypical tragicher—oine.SheisavictimofHamlet'smanic behavior sheisdriven insaneanddrownsherself. Women in heroicmythsusuallymeetsuchafate unlesstheherocanfindawaytosavethem.Princess Leia representsa more progressiveimageofwomen in heroicadventure.Though Leia isinitiallysaved byLuke Skywalkerand HanSolo,sheisstrongandself-reliant. Sheisa resourceful militaryleaderandsavesLukeand HanseveraltimesintheStarWarstrilogy. — Galleryi ClaudioCoello Spanish,1642-1693 St.Joseph andtheChristChild Oiloncanvas,about1666 PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1981.44 Soimportantisthehero'sarrival intheworldthateven theheavenswillcelebratehis birthandwatchoverhim until he reaches maturity.Fromaveryyoungageheroes arerecognizedasexceptional people.Theirarrival is usuallyforetold in legendsandeven asan infanta hero willdemonstratehisdivinepotential.Duringchildhood helearnsthemoral lessonsanddevelopstheskills neededtofulfill hisdestiny.Manytimestheyoung heroattractsfaithfulfollowerswhowill laterhelpin his quest.InStarWarsit istheyoung LukeSkywalkerwho isdestinedtobringbalancetoTheForce. Galleryi BenjaminWest American,1738-1820 ScenefromAriosto's Orlando Furioso TheDamselandOrlando Oiloncanvas,1793 GiftofFlorenceScott Libbey,1912.10 Talesofheroes rescuingfairprincessesanddamsels indistressareamongthemostpopularoftraditional myths.Almosteveryadventureinvolvesa romancethat showsthehero'ssoftersideand hispersonalgrowth. Thispaintingisbasedon a popularromancewritten in the16thcentury.Thestorydealswiththeloveofthe knightOrlandoforAngelica,thedaughteroftheking ofCathay.Thepaintingillustratesthechivalricnatureof the hero'sromanticexploits.Thetrueknightmustalways defendthelifeandvirtueofthedamsel.IntheStarWars filmsLukeSkywalkerand HanSoloshowtheirtrue heroismbyfightingforandwith PrincessLeia.They proveth—eirworth by—rescuingher,slayingenemiesfor herand intheend byfightingasrebelsagainstthe Federation andtheEvil Empire. Galleryi American,1829-1904 TheCouncilofWar Painted plaster,after1868 GiftofMrs.William H.Hill,1953.163 Peopleusemythstohelpthem understandtheworld. Onewaywedothisisbyraisingreal-lifepeopletothe statusofheroes.Greatleaders,likeAbraham Lincoln, arechanged intoheroesbyretellingtheirlifestories usingtheelementsofmyth.StoriesaboutLincolnall stresshishumbleorigins,his personalaccomplish- ments,hisstunningvictories,andespeciallyhistragic death.Suchstoriesallfitthepatternofheroicmyth. Gallery1 Stefano Maderno Italian (Rome),1576-1636 HerculesandAntaeus Bronze,about1622 PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1952.14 Manyofthehero'sadventuresrequireexceptional physical skillandstrength.Todefeathismost powerful enemies,however,hemustalsolearn patience,faith andwisdom.ThisstatueshowsHerculeswrestling withthegiantAntaeus.ThesonofNeptuneand Earth, Antaeuscould notbedefeated becauseherenewed hisstrengtheverytimehetouchedtheground. HerculesisonlyabletovanquishAntaeusbyholding himoffthegroundandstranglinghim.Inasimilar way,LukeSkywalkerlearnedtodefeatthestronger forcesoftheEmpirebyputtinghisfaith inTheForce. Galleryi FollowerofGiovanni da Bologna Italian (Florence),1529-1608 Samson andthePhilistine Bronze,about1600-1625 PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1951.383 Samson,thebiblical strongman,wasasymbolofhope and redemptionforhispeople.Hestruggledthrough- out hislifeagainsttheiroppressors:thePhilistines.In spiteofmanysetbacks,LukeSkywalkerand hisfriends carriedona longstruggleagainsttheseemingly unbeatable Empire.In a similarway,Samson never gaveuphisfightagainstthePhilistines.AfterDelilah robbed Samsonofhisstrength bycuttinghishair,he wascaptured and blinded bythePhilistines.Yet,even afterthisbetrayal,Samson renewed hisdevotion in timetoregain hisstrengthforonelastheroicfeat. Hepulled downthepillarssupportingthetempleof hisoppressors,killingthousandsinoneblow. Galleryi CentralTibet Buddha Gilded bronzewithturquoise,lapislazuli, and powdered azurite,about1450 GiftofTheApolloSociety,1989.4 Everyheromyth isreallya storyofpersonal develop- ment.Each herosearchesforasacredobject,aspecial knowledge,ora senseofenlightenmentthatwill help bringpeacetohisworld.ThestoryofLukeSkywalker followsthesamepattern.OverthecourseoftheStar WarsfilmsweseeLukedevelopfroman impatient teenagertoaJedi Knight.BytheendoftheStarWars trilogyheisabletouseTheForcetosavethegalaxy fromtheevil Empire.Inthesameway,thegreatfigures ofeverymajorreligion havegoneona"visionquest." Moses'traveledtoMountSinaiandJohntheBaptist spenttimeinthedesert.Mohammed meditated in themountaincaveandtheBuddha searchedfor enlightenment.Theirstoriesshowtheseleaders' searchformeaningand knowledge. The journey continues with a hero Museum hunt through the galleries.. Tofindeach workofart,lookforthissymbolnext tothelabelasyou walkthough thegalleries. Europe ]800s Impressionn MonroeStreet European Entrance DecorativeArts andPeriodRooms StarWars ^^Retail Clotsier MiddleAge: StarWars: TheMagicofMyth SpecialExhibition StarWar ^<9 ^<£ AfTi oPi-rimle ^StarWarp^- Lobby -. Peristyle Classic Court Etruscan StatuetteofHerde Bronze,early4thcenturyb.c. PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1978.22 WhetherheisknownasHerakles(hisGreekname), Hercules(his Roman name),orHercle(hisEtruscan name),thisisthemostfamousofallancientheroes. Thesonofagod anda princess,Herculeswasraised bymortal parentsand asachild survivedseveral attemptson hislife.Onestorytellsoftheinfant Herculesstranglingpoisonoussnakesthatwere senttokill him byajealousgoddess,thusprovinghis virtue.Upon reachingmaturity,Herculesperformed numerousheroictasks.Afterhedied hewasadopted asadeitybythegodsofMountOlympus. ClassicCourt TheAntimenesPainter Greek,madeintheprovinceofAttica Hydria(waterjar) Wheel-thrown,slip-decoratedearthenwarewith inciseddetails,about525b.c. PurchasedwithfundsfromtheLibbeyEndowment, GiftofEdward Drummond Libbey,1956.70 ThebestknownofHercules'sheroicfeatsarehistwelve labors.Heundertookthesetaskstopurifyhimselfafter killinghisownfamilyduringafitofmadness.Thescene onthe—shoulderofthis hydriadepictsthefirstofthese labors theslayingoftheNemean lion.In asimilar way,LukeSkywalkerfacesliketrials,includingthe defeatofthemonstrousWampa icecreatureatthe beginningofTheEmpireStrikesBack. Herculesisoften shownwearingtheskinoftheNemean lionasa symbolofhisstrengthand resourcefulness.
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