Antiquities gallery reincarnated at Museum

Author: Alexxa Gotthardt

If museums are about range, rarity, resonance and visual resplendence, then the Middlebury College Museum of Art (MCMA) continues to follow beautifully in step. The most recent manifestation of MCMA's ever-increasing strength comes in the form of the recently reinstalled permanent exhibition "Ancient Mediterranean and Early European Art," skillfully curated by Associate Curator of Ancient Art and Professor of History of Art & Architecture Pieter Broucke. Here, monumental sarcophagi, magnificent Greek vases and vivid Renaissance panels stride boldy and brilliantly into the first gallery, announcing MCMA's commitment to art historical breadth, cultural resonance and visual grandeur.

To open the door of the MCMA is to embark on a voyage to another age - in fact, many other ages - for "Ancient Mediterranean and Early European Art" greets visitors with a grand overview of art and artifacts from Near-Eastern antiquity through Ancient Egypt, Classical Antiquity, the Middle Ages and up to the beginnings of the Renaissance.

To cover this wide historical period in an efficient yet also illuminating manner, Broucke organized the objects into five subject areas - Egypt and the Ancient Near East, The Ages of Homer: from the Bronze Age to the Rise of Greece, Athenian Gods and Heroes, From Alexander to Constantine, Hellenistic Kings and Roman Emperors and The Age of Devotion: Art of Late Antiquity and Early Europe. These headings, paired with detailed object labels and soon-to-be-installed wall texts, arrange the artifacts chronologically, thematically and physically. The result is a comprehensive exhibition with a calculated, fluid layout that not only displays isolated objects for their beauty, but also integrates the artifacts into the surrounding world by exploring the cultures that created them.

Broucke, who has worked as an architect and archeologist and has focused his most recent academic studies on Classical Greek and Roman architecture, has been working to restructure and reinforce this gallery for over two years. But why the sudden concentrated reorganization of these objects and rejuvenation of the gallery?

"When it was decided to give Asian art its own gallery upstairs, there was suddenly a lot more space available for Ancient art," said Broucke. Space that was very necessary, thanks to the increasing number of important acquisitions in the category of early Western art.

"The real genesis for this reworking of the gallery is the important growth of the college collections in the antiquities and medieval period over recent years to the point that they are no longer merely beautiful individual objects for display but that they are achieving a critical mass that can permit some contextual interpretation," said Acting Director of the MCMA and Professor of Art Glenn Andres.

"We have had great success over recent years in building this area of our collection due to the involvement of Pieter Broucke. With the support of [Director of MCMA] Richard Saunders, he has systematically identified appropriate pieces as they have come on the auction market and picked away at perceived gaps in the teaching collection."

The objects from the gallery's ever-growing treasury reveal not only a comprehensive view of this period of history, but also a striking one. "Over the last few years we have been able to make some very, very good acquisitions on a regular basis including a couple of objects that would be masterpieces in any collection," said Broucke. Upon walking through the gallery, it is clear as to which artifacts are the masterpieces. The larger-than-life Sarcophagus of Hathor-Mut-Netcher and the intricate early kingdom relief from Giza boldly define the Ancient Egyptian period and stand out among the other objects. A small, charming Mycenaean figure of clay, just acquired last year, stands out in "The Ages of Homer" section. Next, the collection of elegant Greek vases, illustrating lively scenes of Greek life and mythology, is perhaps the most important group of objects in the gallery.

"Particularly the Greek vase collection is of considerable importance, not only because it includes vases by named painters and of exceptional provenance, but because it is comprehensive in its coverage and explanation of the styles of Greek painting," said Andres. The Statuette of Venus embodies the Roman, Hadrianic period. This beautiful figure harkens back to the Hellenistic era, imitating the Aphrodite of Knidos - the first female nude in Greek art. In the "Age of Devotion," the recently acquired Renaissance panel painting of the Virgin and Mary is especially impressive and is, according to Broucke, "one of the masterworks we have in the entire museum."

These stand-out works, together with many other significant artifacts, create an exhibition all at once informative and impressive. "All of these works really resonate on many levels - visual, cultural and academic," said Broucke. "This exhibition can apply to numerous classes at Middlebury in addition to museology, museum studies and museum education." Andres also highlighted the academic relevance of the exhibition. "A prime role for the museum is its support of the academic programs on campus. In the case of the permanent collection on display in this gallery, there are artifacts of direct use to study in the History of Art and Architecture, Classics and Religion," said Andres.

"Ancient Mediterranean and Early European Art" provides an important, notable visual introduction not only to this vast period in history, but also to the ambitions and effects of the MCMA.

"This gallery offers an overview in an abbreviated form of the visual culture of art history up until the Renaissance, and in a relevant way. You can look at these as works of art in their own right that you just appreciate for their aesthetic value, but you can also easily go look at this to get a sense of the history of civilization as you see it in its material culture. This really offers a lot to a broad range of audiences," said Broucke. "It is increasingly a stronger collection in an increasingly strong museum."