Saturnalia (sculpture)

Saturnalia ( Latin: Saturnalia ) - a feast in honor of the god Saturn , established in Rome at the end of the 5th century. BC e. in memory of the Golden Age, which allegedly was on earth during his reign. Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted 3 days (from the time of the emperor Domitian - 5 days). It was a celebration of harmony and equality when they violated the social hierarchy, and the oppressors and the oppressed became equal.

At the end of the 19th century, the Italian sculptor Ernesto Biondi (1855-1917) addressed the theme of saturnalia. He created a sculptural group of ten people, personifying different layers of ancient Roman society - from the aristocrat and the gladiator to the slave and courtesan. The figures are presented in full growth, funny and very enthusiastic about the unbridled holiday. The crowd is ready to dance, and sing dashing songs, and evil to joke with drunkards. In 1899, the sculpture group left the foundry. In 1900, she was presented at the Paris Exhibition.

The Victorian era is accused of hypocrisy and addiction to revealing virtue. The sculptural group of Biondi was perceived ambiguously, and the critic from the USA, Lorado Taft , was disapproving. Nevertheless, the Saturnalia was transported to the city of New York , and then exhibited in Buffalo at the Venice of America exhibition in the hope of selling it to some rich man or institution. The exhibit was not acquired and it was transferred to the Metropolitan Museum of Art , where it was planned to be exhibited in the sculpture hall. Museums in the United States have a governing body and board of wealthy trustees who hold the final say in decisions. The Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art recognized the Bondi sculpture group as extremely immoral and ordered the work to be taken out. The insulted sculptor filed a lawsuit against the museum demanding compensation of $ 200,000 for violating the contract for use. But the American court sided with the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, since without their consent the director of the museum has no right to conclude legal agreements with any artist.

• María del Cármen Magaz (2007). Escultura y Poder. "Serie Arte" de Acervo Editora Argentina. ISBN 978-987-23100-2-8 .
• Carlos María Toto, Leticia Maronese y Carlos Estévez (2007), Monumentos y Obras de Arte en el espacio público de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Colección cuadernos educativos, Ministerio de Cultura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
• Daniel Tejo (2004). Buenos Aires, Arte Público. Ediciones Tejo. ISBN 987-20533-3-2 .