"Tanagra: Myth and Archaeology"
2003-09-19 until 2004-01-05
Louvre Museum
Paris, , FR

Tanagras are terracotta figurines that saw the day in Greece c.340-300 BC, became extraordinarily popular all around the Mediterranean and then died out c.200 BC. Assembling 240 figurines, this exhibition invites the visitor to explore the many facets of the “Tanagra” myth set against the context of its archaelogical reality. These statuettes, discovered by accident in the 19th century during excavations in tombs at Tanagra (an ancient Boeotian city), were soon much sought-after and gave rise to great rivality between major museums and private collections.

They most frequently represent gracious female figures draped in close-fitting garments, a genre that was unknown in the 19th century. As a result of the craze for these figurines, numerous imitations were produced, but tanagras nevertheless remained a legendary source of inspiration for several generations of artists. For the first time the public will have a chance to see a representative selection of these sculptures, ranging from the handmade object to the veritable masterpiece, together with a modern reinterpretation of their critical analysis. Definition: The term “tanagras” encompasses all the figurines produced, first in Athens at the end of the third quarter of the 4th century BC, then immediately exported and imitated in Boeotia, particularly at Tanagra, and in Greece and Greek Asia Minor throughout the 3rd century BC. Though the statuettes predominantly depicted women, there were also figures of men and children. The term “tanagras” has survived from the 19th century.

IMAGE
Sophoclean Woman draped in a Himation,
Tanagra, 330-300 BC,
musée du Louvre, AGER, MNB 585
© RMN/Lewandowski.

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