{"id":8357,"date":"2018-08-30T01:55:01","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T05:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=8357"},"modified":"2018-08-30T02:59:24","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T06:59:24","slug":"gardner-farnese-sarcophagus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2018\/08\/30\/gardner-farnese-sarcophagus\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Chance For Close Up Look At Gardner Museum\u2019s \u2018Most Important Work Of Ancient Art\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The story goes that the two-millennia-old Farnese Sarcophagus was so heavy that in 1901 Isabella Stewart Gardner had the marble coffin hauled in and built her museum around it. For a century, it has anchored the back left side of her museum\u2019s dramatic central courtyard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would have been put in place at the time the museum was being built and it was never moved,\u201d says Holly Salmon, the Gardner Museum\u2019s senior objects conservator.<\/p>\n<p>That is never moved until museum staff decided to pull it out for the exhibit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardnermuseum.org\/calendar\/exhibition\/life-death-revelry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cLife, Death &amp; Revelry,\u201d<\/a> on view at the Boston museum through Monday, Sept 3. The museum says, \u201cFor the first time in over 100 years, we have moved this monumental work from its usual location, wedged between two columns in the Palace courtyard, into Hostetter Gallery, so that all four sides of it are now visible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgardnermuseum%2Fvideos%2F10155566210300963%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Freshly cleaned and accompanied by new scholarship, the exhibit offers insights into the origins of the piece that the museum has long touted it as \u201cthe most important work of ancient art in the collection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Gardner Museum began new analysis of the sarcophagus two years ago. \u201cWe were looking at what it was made out of, what it looked like originally, and how it changed over time,\u201d Salmon says. They moved the artwork onto a platform in the courtyard last year for continuing study and seven months of cleaning. At around 7,500 pounds, Salmon says, \u201cIt was too heavy to go anywhere else really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Using steam, gel, lasers and water, conservators painstakingly cleaned water damage, grime from pollution (\u201cpost Industrial Revolution carbon in the air,\u201d Solmon says), dust, bugs.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8368\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8368\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8368\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"The front and left sides of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0458w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The front and left sides of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/wonderlandlandfanclub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don&#8217;t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The sarcophagus is carved with \u201cimages of human beings interacting with the god Dionysus \u2026 connected to the divine and joyful and kind of liberated,\u201d says Christina Nielson, curator of the Gardner collection (or chief curator).<\/p>\n<p>Dionysus was the ancient Greek god of wine and fertility and rebirth (as grape vines wither each winter only to bloom anew in the spring). Carved in high, three-dimensional relief across the front of the sarcophagus, female worshipers of Dionysus, known as maenads, harvest grapes while lusty male satyrs strip them out of their clothes. Putti\u2014small children\u2014play at their feet and fill containers with grapes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWomen like this only had license to do this because they are celebrating the god. Proper Roman women were veiled and they didn\u2019t leave their homes,\u201d Nielson says. \u201cTo be naked and frolicking is an extraordinary state.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8373\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8373\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8373\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Carvings across the back of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus depict scenes from Dionysus\u2019s childhood\u2014the satyr Silenus, who raised the god, holds the baby Dionysus, while another young Dionysus rides atop a panther. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0423w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carvings across the back of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus depict scenes from Dionysus\u2019s childhood\u2014the satyr Silenus, who raised the god, holds the baby Dionysus, while another young Dionysus rides atop a panther. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Carvings across the back depict scenes from Dionysus\u2019s childhood\u2014the satyr Silenus, who raised the god, holds the baby Dionysus, while another young Dionysus rides atop a panther.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was about putrefaction, the decay of the body on the inside, but the transformation of grapes into wine on the outside,\u201d Nielson says. \u201cLife and death and renewal and fertility and wine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based on new observation, scientific analysis, and historical scholarship, museum staff now believe the block of marble was quarried at Docimium, in what is now western Turkey, during the third century. It was probably carved into a sarcophagus and vividly painted at Rome.<\/p>\n<p>Only a few traces of the original coloring remain\u2014gilt gold on a man\u2019s hair, blue on grapes and a woman\u2019s dress, red in a woman\u2019s cloak\u2014hidden in crevices and out of the way places where it survived centuries of exposure to the elements.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8376\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8376\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8376\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A bit of gold remains visible in the hair of one figure on the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0404w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8376\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bit of gold remains visible in the hair of one figure on the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt was originally painted and gilt and given what has happened to it over the course of its life it\u2019s extraordinary there\u2019s any pigment left,\u201d Solman says. \u201cWhile we can\u2019t say what it looked like because there are only a few flecks left here and there \u2026 one of the most exciting things is we were able to identify the pigment Egyptian blue, which is thought to be the first man-made pigment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gardner staff believe the sarcophagus was then probably buried in a tomb at Tivoli, a hillside town outside Rome where the Emperor Hadrian kept a country home. \u201cWe don\u2019t know who was buried in it,\u201d Nielson says. \u201cIt was probably set in the earth, but it could have been in these tunnel-like\u201d necropolises.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8364\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8364\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8364\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Across the front of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus, female worshipers of Dionysus, known as maenads, harvest grapes while lusty male satyrs strip them out of their clothes. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0465w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Across the front of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus, female worshipers of Dionysus, known as maenads, harvest grapes while lusty male satyrs strip them out of their clothes. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The sarcophagus was rediscovered in 1530. \u201cBy the 16th century, people in the city of Rome are interested in antiquities, so archaeology as we know it starts,\u201d Nielson says.<\/p>\n<p>Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the governor of Tivoli and grandson of Pope Paul III, had the sarcophagus moved to Rome where it became part of his family\u2019s collection. From that point, the sarcophagus\u2019s journey can be traced via archival records and drawings that it attracted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8374\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8374\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8374\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Bits of color remain on the gown of one figure on the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0400w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8374\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bits of color remain on the gown of one figure on the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Farneses placed the sarcophagus outdoors in the gardens of their palazzo. A hole was carved at the back right to serve as a drain. Artists were inspired to draw it. Sketches from the 1600s, reveal a child figure that is now missing from the left end panel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we looked at the 17th century drawings, we realized there as a putti figure that\u2019s not there now,\u201d Solmon says. The leg of a nearby adult figure was recarved at some point and the child lost in the process. \u201cThere are a few of his tiny fingers left on the fruit basket, clinging on for dear life.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8366\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8366\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8366\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w-1024x975.jpg\" alt=\"Tiny fingers left on the fruit basket on the lower left side of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus may be the result of 19th century recarving by sculptor Carlo Albacini. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w-1024x975.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w-300x286.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w-768x731.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w-370x352.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0459w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8366\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tiny fingers left on the fruit basket on the lower left side of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus may be the result of 19th century recarving by sculptor Carlo Albacini. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That was likely the doing of sculptor Carlo Albacini and his workshop. He added new marble and recarved some of the original stone as part of an 1802 touch-up. \u201cWhat we spent a lot of time doing is looking at the restoration,\u201d Solmon says.<\/p>\n<p>Lines and cracks along the joints indicate where Albacini added new marble to replace arms and legs. \u201cNoses and limbs, things that protrude were more vulnerable,\u201d says Jess Chloros, an associate objects conservator at the Gardner.<\/p>\n<p>Salmon says Albacini seems to have recarved some of the ancient marble where it \u201ceroded along the bottom \u2026 in the tomb or outdoor exposure in the garden.\u201d This is particularly visible along the right side and back, where it \u201cprobably suffered quite a lot from exposure and erosion,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of pitting,\u201d Chloros says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was easier to carve it back to get a fresh start,\u201d Salmon says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8377\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8377\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8377\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Carlo Albacini\u2019s recarving of the Farnese Sarcophagus is visible in chisel lines around the shoulder of one male figure on the right side, where the sculptor worked into the original marble. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0412w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8377\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carlo Albacini\u2019s recarving of the Farnese Sarcophagus is visible in chisel lines around the shoulder of one male figure on the right side, where the sculptor worked into the original marble. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Albacini\u2019s recarving is visible in chisel lines around the shoulder of one male figure, where the sculpture worked into the original marble. \u201cIt was likely so damaged that they kept carving it back until they got to intact stone,\u201d Chloros says.<\/p>\n<p>Because the sarcophagus was in Albacini\u2019s studio, it escaped confiscation by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte\u2019s forces. Instead, it was stored at the Vatican around 1810 and sent back to the villa after Napoleon\u2019s fall from power in 1815.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8371\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8371\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8371\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w-1024x729.jpg\" alt=\"The front of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus is carved in high, three-dimensional relief. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w-1024x729.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w-370x263.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0431w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8371\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The front of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus is carved in high, three-dimensional relief. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the urging of Richard Norton, an American art dealer and advisor to Gardner, Gardner bought the sarcophagus in 1898. She had it shipped via Cunard Line steamboat from Liverpool to Boston in 1900 and prominently placed in the courtyard the following year as she constructed her museum.<\/p>\n<p>For this exhibit, Chloros explains, the sarcophagus was \u201ctoo heavy to move through the museum. The safest way was for it to go out the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This spring, riggers carefully rolled the sarcophagus out of the building atop round poles set on a track of wooden beams, then fork-lifted it onto a truck and drove it around to the gallery in the 2012 Renzo Piano-designed wing.<\/p>\n<p>As Richard Norton wrote to Gardner in 1897: \u201cFor a sarcophagus, it is unusually fine. Naturally the work is not as refined as the work on the Parthenon frieze, but this slightly hasty character of the work is characteristic of sarcophagi. It is really very lovely and I do not think even Boston would object to its frank but slight sensuality.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/wonderlandlandfanclub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don&#8217;t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8369\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8369\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8369\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w-1024x509.jpg\" alt=\"The front of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w-1024x509.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w-300x149.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w-768x382.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w-370x184.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0438w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The front of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8363\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8363\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8363\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"The front of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0450w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8363\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The front of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8380\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8380\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8380\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w-1024x550.jpg\" alt=\"Back side of Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w-1024x550.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w-768x412.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w-370x199.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0420w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8380\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Back side of Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8375\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8375\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8375\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A bit of blue is visible between the grapes here on the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0402w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bit of blue is visible between the grapes here on the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8372\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8372\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8372\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-1024x925.jpg\" alt=\"The right side of the Gardner Museum's Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)\" width=\"900\" height=\"813\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-1024x925.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-300x271.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-768x694.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-291x264.jpg 291w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w-370x334.jpg 370w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/picFarneseSarcophagusGardner180619_0425w.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The right side of the Gardner Museum&#8217;s Farnese Sarcophagus. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The story goes that the two-millennia-old Farnese Sarcophagus was so heavy that in 1901 Isabella Stewart Gardner had the marble coffin hauled in and built her museum around it. For a century, it has anchored the back left side of her museum\u2019s dramatic central courtyard. \u201cIt would have been put in place at the time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[426,37,425,215,427,424],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8357"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8399,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357\/revisions\/8399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}