Greek art at its best in two separate exhibitions

In my eyes, Greek art just like Greek temples is pure perfection. A matter of taste or a matter of judgment, no doubt, but no civilization has ever created anything better. The Romans loved it so much that they created their own imitations without which we would have missed a great deal of information, but they never matched up to the Greek perfection.

This being said, it is quite exciting to see that there currently are two separate exhibitions on Greek statues from Hellenistic times.

One is running at the British Museum in London under the title “Defining Beauty, the body in ancient Greek art”. It opened on March 26 and will end on July 5, 2015, so you better make your travel plans.

A friend of mine recently went to see these thrilling works of art and told me that the exhibition also includes a very interesting section explaining how the statues were painted in antiquity as shown through some superb examples from the German travelling museum pieces.

The other exhibition is in Florence, Italy, at the Palazzo Strozzi, running from March 14 till June 21, 2015. Under the label “Power and Pathos. Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World” some of the most important bronze masterpieces have been brought together. Leading museums from around the world have contributed to this unique collection: The British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New-York, the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Vatican Museums and several other Italian museums. It is a unique opportunity to admire this rich array of monumental statues of gods, athletes and heroes for most bronzes were destroyed over the centuries to recuperate the raw material for other purposes.

For both events, tickets can be purchased on-line, a safe way to make sure to obtain entrance to the museum at the time of your visit.