Storytelling: Visual Reinterpretation of a Greek Myth

For thousands of years, artists have perpetuated ancient Greek mythology through sculpture, painting and crafts.  The Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art welcomes visitors to this tradition with a bronze sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973) located outside the museum’s main entrance.

Prometheus Strangling the Vulture, Jacques Lipchitz.
Begun 1944, cast 1952-53. Philadelphia

The story of Prometheus is usually told as one of the labors of Hercules, but there is another layer of meaning with the heroic figure created by Lipchitz.  In the original myth, Prometheus was punished by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans.  Hercules rescued Prometheus from the torturous talons of an eagle which was sent by Zeus as punishment. Clearly, Lipchitz reinterpreted this story by presenting Prometheus’s victory over a vulture (not an eagle).

     Another interpretation of Lipchitz’s Prometheus pertains to the sculptor’s own life, and conveys a struggle between good and evil.   The battle may also refer to the Lipchitz’s own artistic struggles.  Born in Lithuania, Lipchitz moved to Paris where he became part of the artistic circle working in the style of Cubism.  He won an award for a version of Prometheus at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris.  By 1940 Lipchitz fled Nazi occupation during World War II, and he relocated to the United States. The curvaceous forms of Lipchitz’s figures are interlocked in battle, but the vertical emphasis on Prometheus indicates that the hero will be victorious.

The museum director strategically placed this iconic sculpture overlooking the streets of Philadelphia and directly behind a monumental equestrian figure of George Washington.

References:

Hartt, Frederick. Art – A History of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, 

      Fourth Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall – Harry Abrams, Inc., 1993.

     

Jacques Lipchitz. Art Directory. http://www.jacques-lipchitz.com/

     (accessed September 4, 2013).

Moncrieff, A.R. Hope. Classical Mythology. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1992.

Prometheus Strangling the Vulture, Jacques Lipchitz. 

     Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

     http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/

     54047.html?mulR=2139349398|1 (accessed September 4, 2013).

Jeffersonian Aesthetics and Ideals

Thomas Jefferson (bronze) at Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia

A realistic, freestanding bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson greets guests outside the visitor center to his own home at Monticello, Virginia. Jefferson’s achievements as primary author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States (1801-1809), may have eclipsed his aesthetic contributions to American architecture.  Jefferson was instrumental in the transfer of Classical aesthetics to his newly formed country. The Classical heritage is traced to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome – cultures that pioneered the ideals of democracy and the establishment of a republic.

     During his studies, Jefferson read Four Books on Architecture by the Italian Renaissance designer Andrea Palladio who adapted Classical principles to sixteenth century buildings. While serving as a minister to France, Jefferson was also impressed by the ancient Greco-Roman architectural heritage at Nimes.  Plus, he was inspired by French Neoclassic architecture, such as the Parisian Hotel de Salm.

    In 1790, Jefferson’s cumulative knowledge influenced his remodeling strategy for Monticello (Italian for “little mountain"). Although the house was not completed until 1809, when he retired from the Presidency.  The entrance portico features columns that support a triangular pediment and a frieze with alternating triglyphs and metopes.  These are trademark elements of the ancient Greek Doric architectural order, but the lunette window inside the pediment was an innovation by Jefferson.  Dome construction was characteristic of ancient Roman temples like the Pantheon, but it took more than a thousand years for Andrea Palladio to be the first architect to use a dome in a private villa.  Jefferson’s dome for Monticello is octagonal with a supporting rotunda pierced by circular windows.  The entablature and balustrade disguises a second story, which provides a horizontal emphasis to the home. The horizontal line is visually counter-balanced by the elongated vertical windows of the ground-floor level.

The Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. 1943  by John Russell Pope

Memorial Sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, by Rudolph Evans.  19’ high

     Jefferson applied Classical principles to two more major projects: the University of Virginia and the Virginia State Capitol. There is a line of continuity for more than two thousand years from the Classical past to the present. As an architect, Thomas Jefferson intended to remind the American public about this aesthetic legacy. Today, a tribute to this architectural legacy is conveyed through coinage. The façade of Monticello is minted in low relief on a five-cent coin with a portrait Jefferson on the opposite side. Also, many museums, banks, government buildings and private homes continue the Classical (or Neoclassical) heritage.  Even the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. pays respect to Classicism with a circular rotunda supporting a dome, and exterior colonnaded columns topped with Ionic capitals. Inside the memorial is a colossal standing figure of the third President and wall panels with massive stone inscriptions from the Declaration of Independence as a reminder of American ideals.

References:

Jefferson Memorial. National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
     http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc73.htm
     (accessed August 19, 2013).

Monticello in Transition. Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.
     http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/monticello-transition
     (accessed  August 19, 2013).

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History, Third edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 
     2008.

Thomas Jefferson. The White House, Washington, D.C.
     http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson
     (accessed August 19, 2013).