The Sacro Bosco at Bomarzo and the Twentieth-Century Political Afterlife of Sculptural Garden History by Thalia Allington Wood – London (United Kingdom)
Photographs, films and ephemera of sculptures and sculptural sites have much to tell us: about what was known and deemed of interest and when, about how objects have been received at different moments in their history, and how such aspects play into larger, political art historical and cultural narratives. They can also uncover stories purposefully overlooked. Such is the case with the history of the Sacro Bosco at Bomarzo, an idiosyncratic sculpture garden commissioned by Pier Francesco (Vicino) Orsini c.1550-1580, filled with monsters and marvels carved of rough volcanic stone, and seemingly discovered after centuries of obscurity in the early 1950s. This talk takes a close look at twentieth-century visual material relating to the site to put pressure on this narrative and to explore how it relates to wider political cultural histories in Italy – from early twentieth-century fascism to the more outward looking post-war period. It also puts forward the value of non-art historical imagery within scholarship. We will look at newsreels of Salvador Dali, personal photography, postcards, even a magazine fashion shoot.
Event organised by The Institute of Historical Research (IHR)