University of Dallas News

Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: News

The Villa of the Mysteries, shown above, and replicas made of it will be the lecture topic on Tuesday, March 17.

On Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, Phi Beta Kappa will sponsor a series of on-campus events with Elaine Gazda, professor of classical art and archaeology in the department of the history of art at the University of Michigan, director of the Interdepartmental Program in Art and Archaeology, and curator of Hellenistic and Roman Antiquities at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. The events will include an informal conversation and a public lecture, as well as meetings with art and classics students with interests in archeology and museum curating.

Gazda's current interest lies in the copies and emulations made of Roman art by the Italian fascist government during the 1920s. Her lecture on Tuesday night will focus on this topic and more specifically on the story of Maria Barosso's replication of the Bacchic murals from Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii. Barosso was commissioned to complete large scale replicas of the wall-paintings at the Villa of Mysteries in 1924 by Francis W. Kelsey, professor of Latin at the University of Michigan. Gazda's lecture will treat the story that unfolds between Kelsey and Barosso and the tension between the patron's vision, the artist's craft and the fascist intention for the replicas.

Gazda is personally involved with this story, as she is currently the curator of Hellenistic and Roman antiquities at the Kelsey Museum in Michigan where these large-scale watercolor replicas are on display. The public lecture will occur on Tuesday, March 17 in Lynch Auditorium at 5 p.m. Soon-to-be Romers are especially invited to attend since they will see the Villa of the Mysteries during their class trip to Pompeii.

In preparation for the lecture, students are also invited to an informal discussion with Gazda on culture, politics and aesthetics. This conversation will take place on Monday, March 16, at 3 p.m. in Gorman Faculty Lounge. The event is sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta and refreshments will be provided by Braniff Graduate School. Readings, including some of Gazda's articles, will be available on online reserves and at the event. Students enrolled in the history seminar on Hitler, in the philosophy department's Aesthetics class, or art students studying the Renaissance and Baroque in Art and Architecture II might find this conversation opportunity particularly interesting. Also, the conversation might interest those who have read and enjoyed Remi Brague's "Eccentric Culture" (copies of which will be available on reserve in the library).

In addition to these public events, Gazda is scheduled to work with students who are interested in pursuing a museum or archaeology career. More information on all these events will be posted around campus on flyers and on posters in Haggar Foyer.

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