A rare display of ancient Roman sculpture is carving its place into Kimbell Art Museum history with a “once-in-a-lifetime” exhibition.
The Fort Worth art museum is one of three in North America that will display works from the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures during the artifacts’ first tour outside of Europe.
“Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection” features selections of imperial portraits and funerary sculptures, carved between the fifth century B.C. and the early fourth century. Of the 58 works on view, 24 pieces were recently restored for the showcase.
Kimbell Art Museum director Eric Lee described the collection as “legendary,” adding it’s an honor for Fort Worth to be one of so few stops.
“This exhibition is not just about the sculptures themselves, it is also about the lives they have led since antiquity,” he told guests during a Sept. 10 tour.
The exhibition debuted at the Art Institute of Chicago in March before making its way to Texas. The Fort Worth show opens to the public Sept. 14 and runs through Jan. 25. The Roman sculptures will finish their North American run at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in July.
If you go:
What: “Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection”
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14-Jan. 25, 2026
Where: Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth
Admission: $14-$18
How the Torlonia family grew their collection
The Torlonia Collection, comprising more than 600 sculptural marble and bronze works, was formed in the 19th century by wealthy Italian banker Giovanni Torlonia, who served the Vatican and the Bonaparte family. He acquired over 260 works from prominent restorers and wealthy families.
After Torlonia’s death in 1829, his son Alessandro spent the next few decades growing the collection through archaeological excavations on the family’s estates.
In 1876, Alessandro opened the private Museo Torlonia in Rome where only a small portion of the sculptures were accessible to scholars and select visitors. At the start of World War II, the museum closed, and the collection was unseen for decades.
More than 90 sculptures were on view at the Capitoline Museums in Rome in 2020 through the Torlonia Foundation before making their way to the Louvre in Paris four years later. Still, hundreds of pieces remained out of public view for decades.
“These marvels, which have been unseen for generations, are now at the center of an unprecedented international journey, one that we know will renew their relevance for a new generation,” Alessandro Poma Murialdo, president of the Torlonia Foundation, told guests at the Fort Worth tour.
Roman art shines in the dark
The Kimbell’s warm lights shine down on the ancient Roman sculptures as much of the museum’s Renzo Piano Pavilion sits in near darkness. Direct lighting focuses on each work’s smooth marble and chipped imperfections.
The sculptures’ appearance have changed across centuries, as artists and professional restorers often recarved features, added new components or otherwise restored the pieces. Today’s museums and collectors often prefer incomplete statues for their authenticity, said Jennifer Casler Price, curator of Asian, African and Ancient American Art at the Kimbell.
“Between the 16th and 19th centuries, collectors did not want fragments,” she said. “We modern audiences are trained to recognize and appreciate fragments.”
Each sculpture inside the Fort Worth museum has a label detailing alterations.
The first section of the exhibition labeled “Icons of the Torlonia Collection” features three of the earliest works acquired by the family. The following “Ideal Bodies & Model Behaviors,” spotlights various deities, including Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty; Artemis, goddess of hunting; and demigod Hercules, known for his superhuman strength.
In “Strategies of Succession,” the museum highlights artworks carved in remembrance of key leaders and imperial families, including a statue of first Roman Emperor Augustus. When he died, the Romans honored him as a god, Casler Price explained.
The “Restoration & Reconstruction” section of the exhibition specifically notes some key sculptures that were reworked in the 16th century. The “Statue of a Resting Goat” at the center of the Kimbell features a head attached by Italian architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Visitors will notice a clear contrast in the detailing of Bernini’s add-on and the original body.
In a separate gallery space, statutes that have hardly been altered in their lifetime take center stage. The “Torlonia Excavations” spotlights a few pieces discovered by Alessandro Torlonia, some mere inches below Italian soil.
The final portion of the exhibition “Death & Remembrance,” brings large-scale marble coffins weighing between 6,000 to 8,000 pounds to the Kimbell. The coffins were typically carved with scenes depicting Greco-Roman myths, including the myth of Hercules performing the Twelve Labors.
Some ancient Romans commemorated their dead through large sarcophagi that signaled a person’s wealth and shared insights into their identity, said Casler Price.
The Kimbell curator hopes visitors leave the exhibition with not only a deep appreciation for Roman art, but a better understanding of the conservation efforts made to keep the sculptures intact for thousands of years.
“Just look at these sculptures and think about their ancient lives and their modern lives, and the journey they’ve taken from the time they were sculpted to the time they were discovered to now, here in the Kimbell,” Casler Price said. “When you walk into the space, you’re walking back in time into ancient Rome.”
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
Disclosure: Kimbell Art Museum has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
