Solid Gold at The Brooklyn Museum

11 novembre 2024

Solid Gold at The Brooklyn Museum

Greek. Wreath (details), 3rd–2nd century B.C.E. Gold. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of George D. Pratt, 26.763. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Behold the majesty of gold in a shimmering exhibition dedicated to the element that has inspired countless works of art, fashion, film, music, and design. As a material and a color, gold has symbolized beauty, honor, joy, ritual, spirituality, success, and wealth throughout history. It has also taken on myriad forms: from millennia-old depictions of an idealized world to opulent 13th- and 14th-century Italian altarpieces and intricate Japanese screens, to contemporary artwork and haute couture marvels. With a sweeping range of objects and a global perspective, this exhibition will trace the many odysseys of the metal that has influenced cultures and legacies worldwide.

Opening on the occasion of the Brooklyn Museum’s 200th anniversary, Solid Gold features more than 500 works, pairing showpieces from the collection with stunning international loans. The fashion world’s embrace of gold will be seen in standout designs by Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Demna, Gianfranco Ferré, Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, Halston, Mary McFadden, The Blonds, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Yves Saint Laurent. Gold-ground paintings and sculptures, coins, and other treasures will sparkle alongside jewelry by Alexander Calder, Belperron, Cartier, Charles Loloma, Jacob & Co, and Verdura—as well as grillz by Gabby Elan. While celebrating the seductive magic of this luminous material, the exhibition will also confront darker histories, inviting frank discussions about the human and environmental costs of extracting gold ore from the earth. Solid Gold will immerse you in one of humankind’s most dazzling obsessions.

November 16, 2024–July 6, 2025

Mummy Cartonnage of a Woman, 1st century C.E. Linen, gesso, gold leaf, glass, faience. Brooklyn Museum; Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 69.35. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum.

Greek. Wreath, 3rd–2nd century B.C.E. Gold. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of George D. Pratt, 26.763. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Greek. Wreath, 3rd–2nd century B.C.E. Gold. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of George D. Pratt, 26.763. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Bracelet, Rome, 379–395. Gold, emeralds, sapphires, and glass. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California, 83.AM.227.2

Coclé. Plaque with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700–900. Gold (tumbaga), 8 1/2 x 9 in. (21.6 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1931, Museum Collection Fund, 33.448.12. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Nardo di Cione (Italian, Florentine, active 1343–1356/1366). Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Zenobius, John the Baptist, Reparata and John the Evangelist, mid 14th century. Tempera and tooled gold on panel, Healy Purchase Fund B gift of Mrs. S. S. Auchincloss, James A. H. Bell, Mrs. Tunis G. Bergen, Mrs. Arthur Blake, Leonard Block, Mary A. Brackett, Mrs. Charles Bull in memory of Noel Joseph Becar, Sidney Curtis, Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman, Forrest Dryden, the Estate of George M. Dunaif, Marion Gans Pomeroy, Francis Gottsberger in memory of his wife, Eliza, bequest of Anne Halstead, Mrs. William H. Haupt, A. Augustus Healy, William H. Herriman, Mrs. Alexander Howe, Julian Clarence Levi, the Martin Estate, bequest of Emilie Henriette Mayr in memory of her brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. George Mayr, Mrs. Richard Norsam Meade in memory of Margery Moyca Newell, Bernard Palitz, Richman Proskauer, Charles A. Schieren, the Estate of Isabel Shults, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Silberberg, Austin Wolf, Mrs. Hamilton Wolf, and Mrs. Henry Wolf, by exchange, 1995.2 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Lorenzo Monaco. Madonna of Humility, ca. 1415–20. Tempera and tooled gold on panel with engaged frame. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of Mary Babbott Ladd, Lydia Babbott Stokes, and Frank L. Babbott, Jr. in memory of their father Frank L. Babbott, 34.842. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Jean Dupas. Panel from the Grand Salon of the Ocean Liner Normandie, ca. 1934. Glass, paint, silver and gold leaf, canvas backing. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of Marilynn and Ivan C. Karp, 85.270. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Rashaad Newsome. KNOT, 2014. Single-channel video installation and custom artist vinyl wallpaper. Video (color, sound): 3 min., 45 sec. (continuous loop). Brooklyn Museum; Gift of the artist and De Buck Gallery.