One of the jobs a curator has to tackle is how to take art that has been presented and studied a million times and rework them into something new and fascinating. What works are being shown together, under what light will the work be presented and much more has to be taken into consideration when putting together a show. There must be a continuous flow among the pieces in a room, enough to guide the viewer but not narrate their time in said gallery. It is not easy, and often times most people do not notice how a gallery is set up because they are too focused on the works themselves.

But, what happens when it is your job to curate a show full of works that have not been seen for years? Works that have been written about but that the pubic has been unable to view? This comes with its own challenges as it will be widely popular. Salvador Settis has this problem on his hands right now, as the Torlonia Collection is finally allowing their pieces to be displayed and viewed by the public. This collection has been so closed off that it has become the stuff of legend, holding up to 620 statues dating back to the fifth century B.C to the fourth century A.D.

There has been much work on the collection behind the scenes, a restorator having stepped in to clean many of the pieces that were reported to have been coated in dust. Not to mention that they had to then select the pieces that would go on display and where they would be displayed.

One can only imagine the stress that the curators and their team must be under while setting up such a gallery, hoping that they can bring to light not only works that are already well known but ones that are not as famous, giving each piece its chance in the spotlight.

The display itself will be out in March, shown in Rome as a prelude to its grand tour.

Image Credit: https://www.fondazionetorlonia.org/about/