Exhibition dates: March 8 – October 30, 2005
Exhibition location: Special exhibition gallery, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Galleries
Cameo Appearances will put on display, beginning March 8, more than 160 superb examples of the art of hardstone carving from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's wide-ranging collections. Inspired by the recent acquisition of a magnificent jasper carving of the head of Medusa by Benedetto Pistrucci, the exhibition traces cameo carving from Greco-Roman antiquity to the 19th century, highlighting the Metropolitan's rich holdings of neoclassical Italian cameos by the great gem-carvers Pistrucci, Girometti, and Saulini. Cameo Appearances also considers related subjects such as cameo glass, illuminates the differences between cameos and intaglios, and touches on fakery.
The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.
Cameos are carved in relief on stones – such as onyx, sardonyx, or agate – with variegated light- and dark-colored strata, or layers. In general, hardstone cameos are more prized than those carved in seashells, which are softer and easier to manipulate. Carvers often succeeded brilliantly in exploiting the strata so that figures would emerge from two layers or more. An astonishingly atmospheric
example on view in the exhibition is a late 16th-century cameo by Alessandro Masnago. Working with a three-inch-high piece of variegated agate, the artist
created a pastoral scene of a shepherdess and her flock resting in a moonlit landscape with a city in the background.
In the Greco-Roman world, the art of cameo carving reached its peak in the first century A.D. under Emperor Augustus. The Italian Renaissance ushered in a revival of cameo carving, and the avid collecting of classical as well as contemporary cameos continued until well into the 19th century. Included in the exhibition is a magnificent Renaissance lapis lazuli carving of Cosimo I de' Medici. Based on a medallic portrait, it was first documented in the Medici inventory in 1588. Even more illustrious is a 1550 jugate portrait of Charles V and his son Philip II, with a portrait of Isabella of Portugal (wife of Charles and mother of Philip) on the obverse. It was carved by the great Milanese sculptor, Leone Leoni (1509–1590), as we know from a letter to Cardinal Granvella in which the artist describes his work on this very piece, which he estimated would take three months to carve.
Cameos were often, but not always, made to be worn as jewelry. One of the highlights of the exhibition is a 19th-century cameo set consisting of a tiara, brooch, and necklace, carved by Luigi Saulini (1819–1883) in onyx and mounted in gold. Cameos often depicted classical subjects, which in this example include copies after antique sculptures – the Discobolus and the head of the Apollo Belvedere – and an original composition, based on a classical theme, depicting the Toilet of Nausicaë. The Pistrucci Head of Medusa is based on, though is by no means a slavish copy of the ancient marble mask known as the Rondanini Medusa. It was created by Benedetto Pistrucci (1780–1851) on commission from a wealthy London dentist. The Italian-born Pistrucci carved with such accuracy that he became chief engraver of the London mint.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many gem-carvers in Rome had studios very near those of contemporary sculptors such as Canova and Thorvaldsen, and they created miniature copies of the sculptors' works in cameos. A fine example is a delicate carving of Nessus and Deianira (1815–1820) by Giuseppe Girometti (Italian, 1779–1851), after a large marble bas-relief by Bertel Thorvaldsen that was acquired recently by the Metropolitan Museum.
The core of the Metropolitan's collection of cameos, and of the exhibition, is the world-class collection formed by the financier Milton Weil, who died in 1934.
Credits and Related Programs
Cameo Appearances is organized by James David Draper, Henry R. Kravis Curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum.
Exhibition design is by Michael Batista, Exhibition Designer, with graphic design by Constance Norkin, Graphic Designer, and lighting by Clint Ross Coller and Rich Lichte, Lighting Designers, all of the Museum's Design Department.
A variety of educational programs will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition.
The exhibition will be featured on the Museum's Web site (www.metmuseum.org).
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