(4 February 2016) “Pompeii” is an exhibition hosted at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from Saturday 6 February until 5 September. The initiative is promoted with the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (where the exhibition was hosted from June 13, 2015 to January 3, 2016). For the first time in history, Montreal – with the collaboration of the Italian Cultural Institute – hosts an exhibition entirely devoted to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Founded in the 6th century BC by the Roman Empire, the two cities were destroyed during the spectacular eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Buried under several meters of volcanic sediment and thus preserved from the passing of time, they laid forgotten for more than 15th centuries. Their rediscovery in the 18th century profoundly influenced art throughout Europe, from neoclassicism to romanticism. “On Sunday we went to Pompeii. Many disasters happened in the world, but few brought as much joy to posterity. I think it’s hard to see something more interesting. The houses are small and cramped, but all contain elegant paintings. The remarkable city gate, with the adjoining cemetery; the tomb of a priestess shaped like a circular bench, with a stone back and an inscription in capital letters. Looking over the stone, you can see the sea and the setting sun. A wonderful place, worthy of serene thoughts,” wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in “Journey to Italy” (1816), in a paragraph that best express Pompeii’s timeless and boundless charm. (Red)
