P36-37 Neil Macgregor.Indd

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

P36-37 Neil Macgregor.Indd MEXICO Moctezuma: Aztec ruler BY NEIL MACGREGOR DIRECTOR OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM n behalf of the Trustees of the British Moctezuma’s life and dramatic death are explained Museum, I would like to take this through a variety of stunning objects, generously opportunity to welcome President Felipe lent from Mexico, from monumental sculpture, gold Calderón Hinojosa to the UK on his and mosaic items to codices and European paintings. OState Visit. The British Museum has a long-standing Recent finds and research will shed light on Moctezuma commitment to the presentation of Mexican cultures, and offer a re-assessment of his reign and legacy. The millions have visited the Museum’s permanent gallery exhibition will allow visitors to rediscover the Aztec devoted to Mexico since it opened in 1994. world and trace the foundation of modern Mexico. 2009 is a particularly apt time to be thinking about The exhibition is supported by ArcelorMittal and has Mexico and its rich history in advance of the celebration been conceived in partnership with the National Institute NEIL MACGREGOR of the centenary of the Mexican Revolution and bi- for Anthroplogy and History (INAH), Mexico City. has been Director of centenary of Mexican Independence in 2010. The Mexicana is the airline partner and additional support has the British Museum coincidence of these two anniversaries will allow the come from Visit Mexico. The exhibition would not have since 2002. He is an world to reconsider the history of Mexico. It has offered been possible without the personal commitment of the honorary Fellow of New an opportunity for us here at the British Museum, in Mexican Ambassador to the UK, Juan José Bremer and College, Oxford and partnership with colleagues in Mexico, to examine his colleagues, the Museum is greatly indebted to them the British Academy, a afresh the role of one of the key figures at a pivotal for their help and assistance. British Museum curators fellow of Birkbeck, and moment in the history of the Americas: Moctezuma II, have worked for many years with the Mexican National an Honorary Member who will be the focus of a major exhibition at the Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA), of the Royal Scottish Museum opening in September 2009. This will be which has done so much to foster strong cultural ties that Academy. He sits on the the culmination of four extremely popular exhibitions exist in many fields between the UK and Mexico. Board of the National examining great rulers of world history. The exhibition will tell the story of Moctezuma II, the Theatre, is a member of the Waddesdon of the British Museum © Trustees Academic Committee, the State Hermitage Museum International Advisory Board and the UK National Museums Directors’ Conference. He is also currently Chair of the World Collections Programme. From 1987-2002, Mr MacGregor was Director of the National Gallery in London. 36 FIRST last elected ruler of the Aztecs. He reigned successfully 1920 the country was transformed by the first socialist The artistic for almost two decades (1502–20), consolidating his revolution, from which emerged a strong left-wing empire, constructing a splendid new palace in the government that laid great stress on art as a vehicle for achievements Aztec capital (Tenochtitlan) and performing important promoting the values of the revolution. This led to a religious functions. He was considered to be divine by pioneering programme to cover the walls of public of the Aztecs his people, a vital intermediary with the Aztec gods, buildings with vast murals, and later to setting up print but was also a supreme military commander, heading workshops to produce works for mass distribution astonished the two most prestigious orders of Eagle warriors and and education. Some of the finest of these prints were Jaguar warriors. Moctezuma’s empire comprised much of produced by the three great men of Mexican art of the the Spanish modern highland Mexico, stretching from the Gulf Coast period: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David to the Pacific Ocean. Moctezuma’s world was unrivalled Alfaro Siqueiros. The exhibition will also include earlier and the rest until the devastating arrival of strangers – Cortés and works around the turn of the century by the popular his Spanish fleet. After initially welcoming the Spanish, printmaker, José Guadalupe Posada, who was adopted of the world, Moctezuma was captured and met his death shortly by the revolutionaries as the archetypal printmaker afterwards. In spite of fierce resistance, the Spanish went who worked for the people, and whose macabre dances and have on to conquer his empire. They repurposed Aztec objects of skeletons have always fascinated Europeans. The for Christian worship, shipped gold back to Spain, and Museum’s collection of modern Mexican prints owes continued to used fragments from Aztec pyramids and temples to a debt of gratitude to James and Clare Kirkman, Dave build their own structures. The Aztec response ranged and Reba Williams and The Art Fund. The exhibition wield a huge from conversion and adoption of the new faith to subtle is supported by The Monument Trust. forms of resistance and outright rebellion. An extensive public programme will give visitors influence on The artistic achievements of the Aztecs astonished the the chance to deepen their knowledge of Mexico from Spanish and the rest of the world, and have continued the Aztec period to the present day through lectures, Mexican art to wield a huge influence on Mexican art. Running debates, workshops and film. A special family event alongside the main exhibition, the Museum will present around the ‘Day of the Dead’ festival will take place on a survey of Mexican prints, ‘Revolution on Paper’ which 1st November, sponsored by BP. More information can allows the story of the creation of Mexico to be brought be found on www.britishmuseum.org up to date. The exhibition will be the first in Europe I very much hope that visitors to both exhibitions focusing on the great age of Mexican printmaking in the will take away a greater understanding of the enduring first half of the twentieth century. Between 1910 and cultural achievements of Mexico. F The Mexican Gallery (left) and the Great Court (far left) of © Trustees of the British Museum © Trustees the British Museum 37 FIRST.
Recommended publications
  • The Frick Collection Staff As of June 30, 2008
    The Frick Collection annual report july 2007–june 2008 The Frick Collection annual report july 2007–june 2008 leadership 2 Board of Trustees, Council of The Frick Collection, and Young Fellows Steering Committee reports 3 Margot Bogert, Chairman 5 Anne L. Poulet, Director 8 Colin B. Bailey, Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator 11 Patricia Barnett, Andrew W. Mellon Chief Librarian financial statements 13 Statement of Financial Position 14 Statement of Activities public programming 15 Exhibitions and Lectures 16 Symposia, Publications, and Concerts notable library acquisitions 17 Gifts and Exchanges 18 Purchases donor support and membership 19 Gifts and Grants 23 Fellows and Friends 30 Corporate Members and Sponsors staff 31 The Frick Collection 34 Frick Art Reference Library on our cover: Maiolica dish with The Judgment of Paris after Raphael, Fontana workshop, tin-glazed earthenware, c. 1565, The Frick Collection, gift of Dianne Dwyer Modestini in memory of Mario Modestini; photograph by Michael Bodycomb The Frick Collection Council of Young Fellows Board of Trustees The Frick Collection Steering Committee As of June 30, 2008 As of June 30, 2008 As of June 30, 2008 Margot Bogert, Chairman George C. Wachter, Chairman Lydia Fenet, Chairman Howard Phipps Jr., Vice Chairman Jonathan Brown, Vice Chairman Elisabeth Saint-Amand, Secretary L. F. Boker Doyle, Treasurer Caitlin Davis, Coordinator John P. Birkelund, Secretary Julian Agnew Irene Roosevelt Aitken Fiona Benenson Peter P. Blanchard III W. Mark Brady Genevieve Wheeler Brown I. Townsend Burden III Vivien R. Clark Kipton Cronkite Walter A. Eberstadt Anne Goldrach Paul Cruickshank Emily T. Frick Nicholas H.
    [Show full text]
  • Neil Macgregor, a History of the World in 100 Objects
    TERMINUS tom 15 (2013), z. 2 (27), s. 275–282 doi:10.4467/20843844TE.13.016.1573 www.ejournals.eu/Terminus NCEIL MA GREGOR, A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS, FIRST PUBLISHED IN PRINT IN OCTOBER 2010 BY ALLEN LANE IMPRINT OF PENGUIN BOOKS, PP. 640 Edition used for the review: Kindle Edition, 6 October 2011, Penguin KAJA SZYMAńSKA Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków Only stable, rich and powerful states can commission great art and architectu- re that, unlike text or language, can be instantly understood by anyone – a gre- at advantage in multilingual empires. Neil MacGregor1 The book A History of the World in 100 Objects is a result of a multi-plat- form BBC and British Museum joint enterprise released in 2010. It of- fered an innovative look at history and the role of a museum, and was a great success in popularising knowledge, and history in particular. The whole project involved 550 heritage partners and comprised several me- dia outlets: a six-month long series of daily broadcasts by BBC Radio 4, a website through which individual users and other institutions could also contribute, uploading objects of their own choice, and finally, the book to which this review specifically relates. The radio programme drew 4 million listeners and podcast downloads amounted to over 10 million during the 1 N. MacGregor, loc. 3542/9008. Publikacja objęta jest prawem autorskim. Wszelkie prawa zastrzeżone. Kopiowanie i rozpowszechnianie zabronione. Publikacja przeznaczona jedynie dla klientów indywidualnych. Zakaz rozpowszechniania i udostępniania w serwisach bibliotecznych 276 Kaja Szymańska following year (only just over 5.7 million from the UK).
    [Show full text]
  • 'The Wealth of Nations: the Health of Society': 60 Years of the Wolfson
    ‘The Wealth of Nations: the Health of Society’: 60 Years of the Wolfson Foundation Neil MacGregor OM, Director, The British Museum Lecture given at Wolfson College, Oxford, 8 June 2015, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Wolfson Foundation Janet thank you very much indeed for that generous introduction, and thank you above all for inviting me to pay tribute to the Foundation and to your father and grandfather, and what the Foundation has done and what it represents. This is as you all know a year of anniversaries, and indeed June the month of anniversaries: 800 years of Magna Carta and two hundred years since the Battle of Waterloo, which has also cast along historical shadow. It is also, and for this evening’s purposes, above all, the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Wolfson Foundation, and the history of that Foundation is in the excellent booklet that has just been published, but I would like to pay tribute to its two founding figures, its founding Chairmen: the grandfather and the father of the current Chairman, Janet Wolfson de Botton. Isaac Wolfson, who was born in poverty in Glasgow in 1897, came to London to make a fortune with Great Universal Stores, and used that fortune, as you know, to endow the Foundation. And his son, Leonard Wolfson, who continued not just GUS, but also the Foundation, developed it remarkably. I never knew Isaac Wolfson, but I did frequently meet Leonard, and was the recipient of enormous generosity and encouragement, and also extremely testing conversations. It was always the first thing: this extraordinarily generous man, already committed to helping the institution that one was trying to ask for money for, always began with a very firm and ringing endorsement that the one thing he would not pay was VAT.
    [Show full text]
  • Neil Macgregor from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Neil MacGregor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5 Robert Neil MacGregor, OM, AO, FSA (born 16 June 1946) is a British art historian and museum director. He was the Editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1981 to 1987, the Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 to 2002, and was appointed Director of the British Museum in 2002. He has presented three television series on art and the BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, which aired in 2010 and later 10 became a best-selling book.[1] He has announced that he will step down as Director of the British Museum on 15th December 2015. Biography 15 Neil MacGregor was born in Glasgow to two doctors, Alexander and Anna MacGregor. At the age of nine, he first saw Salvador Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross, newly acquired by Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery, which had a profound effect on him and sparked his lifelong interest in art. MacGregor was educated at Glasgow Academy and 20 then read modern languages at New College, Oxford, where he is now an honorary fellow. The period that followed was spent studying philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris (coinciding with the events of May 1968), and as a law student at Edinburgh 25 University, where he received the Green Prize. Despite being called to the bar in 1972, MacGregor next decided to take an art history degree. The following year, on a Courtauld Institute (University of London) summer school in Bavaria, the Courtauld's director Anthony Blunt spotted MacGregor and persuaded him to take a master's degree under his supervision.[3] Blunt later considered MacGregor "the most brilliant pupil he 30 ever taught".[4] From 1975 to 1981, MacGregor taught History of Art and Architecture at the University of Reading.
    [Show full text]
  • (Microsoft Powerpoint
    Dr. Luis Miguel De Sande González. Medical Oncology. There is an old saying that says (hay un viejo refran que dice) ““LifeLife isis notnot measuredmeasured byby thethe breathsbreaths youyou taketake ,, butbut byby thethe momentsmoments thatthat taketake youryour breathbreath awayaway ”” Irish saying I´ll come straight to the point... ( Iré directamente al grano ) The British Museum ◦ It´s free to all visitors and ◦ open daily A History of the World in 100 Objects London 2009 The British Museum Museum of human history and culture Was established in 1753 Sir Hans Sloane, (founder) More than seven million objects. ◦ Today has grown to over 13 million objects. Neil MacGregor He was the ◦ Director of the National Gallery in London from 1987 to 2002, ◦ and then became Director of the British Museum In 2010, MacGregor presented a series on BBC Radio 4 ◦ entitled A History of the World in 100 Objects , ◦ based on objects from the British Museum's collection. A History of the World in 100 Objects It comprising a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor Podcast. In 15-minute presentations ◦ MacGregor used objects of ancient art, industry, technology and arms, ◦ all of which are in the British Museum's collections, as an introduction to parts of human history Together they represent an amazing amount of history B.C. is for "Before Christ” Ante Christum Natum", which is Latin for “before the birth of Christ". A.D is for “Anno Domini”, Latin for "In the Year of Our Lord" I want to show you some of them • The radio programmes are available on the website • permanently for listening or downloading.
    [Show full text]
  • 100 Histories of 100 Worlds in 1 Object
    100 Histories of 100 Worlds in 1 Object Deadline: Nov 15, 2020 100histories100worlds.org Dr Mirjam Brusius How many stories can an object have? Neil MacGregor’s BBC Radio 4 programme and subse- quent book "A History of the World in 100 Objects" of 2010 was a resounding success with the Bri- tish public, as well as internationally. Reaching new audiences with the aim of providing a global outlook and presenting history through the lens of objects the argument, however, had its flaws. The British Museum reinstated the idea of a ‘view from nowhere’ and everywhere at the same time. It was presented as a place to see the world; yet without any reflection on how the institu- tion itself obtained and reframed the objects in order to create its own seemingly universal narra- tive. Critics particularly pointed to a failure of the museum to engage with the provenance and repatriation of objects. Many saw their view confirmed that colonialism ultimately produced not just inequalities of power but also a distorted view of history. Ten years after the radio programme was broadcast, our project 100 Histories of 100 Worlds in 1 Object returns to its narrative. Focussing on voices from ‘the Global South’ and the formerly subal- tern people it left out: where are the stories of the objects presented as seen by people who once used them? How was knowledge about an object informed by colonial collecting practices; and how is this context presented in museums today? Could an entirely new History of the World in 100 Objects be told, and if so, how? Can a history of the world be told through a certain number of objects at all? How can formerly excluded voices be empowered to tell their own histories beyond these frameworks? Our long-term publication project will take a selection of the 100 Objects as a starting point to then move beyond them in material, archival, and philosophical terms.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the World in 100 Objects Free
    FREE A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS PDF Neil MacGregor | 640 pages | 01 Dec 2012 | Penguin Books Ltd | 9780241951774 | English | London, United Kingdom A History Of The World In Objects pdf Free Download - We use cookies to make our website work more efficiently, to provide you with more personalised services or advertising to you, and to analyse traffic on our website. For more information on how we use cookies and how to manage cookies, please follow the 'Read more' link, otherwise select 'Accept and close'. Please note only certain galleries on the Lower and Ground floors A History of the World in 100 Objects open to visitors. Our trails will take you on fascinating tours, highlighting the most popular objects on display and covering a variety of themes. Skip to main content Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. Read more about our cookie policy Accept and close the cookie policy. Object trails. The Royal Game of Ur on Collection online. You are in the Visit section Home Visit Object trails. Share the page Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Visiting information Plan your visit. View the Museum map. Choose from a selection of object trails around the Museum. One hour at the Museum This trail will take you on a whirlwind tour of the history of the world. Collecting and empire trail Learn how colonial relationships shaped the British Museum's collection. Twelve objects to see with children From ancient armour to mummies, travel back in time on this captivating trail. Three hours at the A History of the World in 100 Objects This three-hour trail showcases the most popular objects on display.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil Macgregor (2011) - Not Even Past
    A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor (2011) - Not Even Past BOOKS FILMS & MEDIA THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN BLOG TEXAS OUR/STORIES STUDENTS ABOUT 15 MINUTE HISTORY "The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner NOT EVEN PAST Tweet 0 Like THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor (2011) Making History: Houston’s “Spirit of the by Cynthia Talbot Confederacy” Objects not only inform us about the time and place when they were made, but often have subsequent biographies of use that shed light on later historical developments. Take this wooden drum acquired in Virginia around 1730 and sent to a wealthy collector in England. Identified as an American Indian artifact, it was one of 71,000 items in the founding collection of the British Museum, the world’s first national public museum. Since its founding in 1753 the British May 06, 2020 Museum’s collection has grown to more than 8 million objects, yet this drum still holds a special More from The Public Historian significance. A recent examination of the instrument’s wooden body revealed that it was made in West Africa, even though it had been BOOKS obtained in North America and was long assumed to be of American Indian origin. Scholars now America for Americans: A History of believe that the drum traveled across the Atlantic in Xenophobia in the United States by a slave ship and spent some time on a Virginia Erika Lee (2019) plantation before winding up in London.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the World in 100 Objects
    A history of the world in 100 objects http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/ A History of the World in 100 Objects is a radio series which has been running in blocks on BBC Radio 4 since the beginning of 2010 - the next set of broadcasts starts in September 2010 - and a comprehensive website accompanies it. The programmes themselves focus on 100 items from the British Museum (http://www.britishmuseum.org/), chosen and described by the director Neil MacGregor, but the BBC website itself is far more wide-ranging. Hundreds of other objects have been submitted by museums across the country and members of the public can also submit items for inclusion. There are several methods of navigating the site. There are tabs across the top for Home; Explore; Programmes; In your area; Blog; Learning; Get involved; About; and My profile. The Explore tab brings up a cloud of objects. You can zoom backwards and forwards in time using the arrows, move to a particular time period using the timeline on the right of the screen or filter the objects by six different filters: location, culture, period, theme, size, colour, and material. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to combine these to find for example Roman money or 19th century travel. Pupils like the serendipitous aspect of this clicking merrily all over the place; as a librarian trying to help people find specific information it is extremely frustrating, compounded by the lack of a search facility. It is possible to narrow the search to objects contributed by the British Museum, or other museums, or individuals or to objects contributed from particular areas of the country - note this means submitted from the area, not that the object originated there, so for example Dundee has submitted a south-east Asian feather tippet (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/UpGk2ML9QdeucRAihVnsHA).
    [Show full text]
  • Eine Geschichte Der Welt in 100 Objekten
    EineNeil MacGregor Geschichte der Welt in 100 Objekten 2 3 Aus dem Englischen von Waltraud Götting, CD 4 Laufzeit ca. 71 Minuten CD 7 Laufzeit ca. 67 Minuten Andreas Wirthensohn und Annabel Zettel 1 Die Anfänge von Wissenschaft 1 Reichsgründer (300 v. Chr.–10 n. Chr.) Gelesen von Hanns Zischler, Rahel Comtesse, und Literatur (2000–700 v. Chr.) 2 Münze mit dem Kopf des Alexander Detlef Kügow und Nico Holonics 2 Die Sintflut-Tafel 3 Ashoka-Säule Redaktion und Regie: Antonio Pellegrino 3 Rhind-Papyrus zur Mathematik 4 Der Stein von Rosette Regieassistenz: Kirsten Böttcher 4 Minoischer Stierspringer 5 Lackierte chinesische Tasse Sound-Design: Dagmar Petrus und Christoph Brandner 5 Der goldene Schulterkragen aus Mold aus der Han-Zeit Studioaufnahmen, Schnitt, Sound-Mix: Ruth-Maria Ostermann 6 Statue von Ramses II. 6 Kopf des Augustus Produktion: Bayerischer Rundfunk/Der Hörverlag 2012 CD 5 Laufzeit ca. 59 Minuten CD 8 Laufzeit ca. 65 Minuten 1 Alte Welt, neue Mächte 1 Antike Freuden, modernes Gewürz (1100–300 v. Chr.) (1–500 n. Chr.) 2 Das Lachisch-Relief 2 Warren Cup CD 1 Laufzeit ca. 60 Minuten 3 Die Liebenden von Ain Sakhri 3 Die Sphinx des Taharqa 3 Nordamerikanische Otterpfeife 1 Wie wir Menschen wurden 4 Ägyptisches Tonmodell von Rindern 4 Chinesisches Ritualgefäß 4 Gürtel für ein rituelles Ballspiel (2 000 000–9000 v. Chr.) 5 Maya-Statue des Maisgottes aus der Zhou-Zeit 5 Ermahnungs-Bildrolle 2 Die Mumie des Hornedjitef 6 Topf der J mon-Kultur 5 Textil der Paracas-Kultur 6 Pfefferstreuer von Hoxne 3 Steinernes Schneidewerkzeug der 6 Die Goldmünze des Krösus Oldowan-Kultur CD 3 Laufzeit ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Neil Macgregor's German Lesson
    Review Germany, an object lesson Neil MacGregor introduces us to a little known land, Alan Philps writes From the window in Neil is, surprisingly, Germany. newest country in Europe MacGregor’s office you can Germany: Memories of a and now the most powerful, see the swirling crowds of Nation uses 200 objects to tell economically and politically. visitors in the courtyard of the country’s history in a way We need to understand the British Museum. Seven that challenges the British it more.’ million people a year squeeze obsession with Second World The exhibition is timed through the Museum’s War images. for the 25th anniversary of narrow door – almost double It follows the extraordinary the fall of the Berlin Wall in the number in 2000. success of MacGregor’s November. But the relevance MacGregor, director since History of the World in 100 is much more contemporary, 2002, puts the rise in visitors Objects – a series of 100 going to the heart of debates down to the stunning redesign 15-minute BBC radio in Britain about how power of the Great Court inside the broadcasts in which the should be shared among the museum with its glass and director brings to life exotic UK’s home nations and in steel roof which has made the pieces from the museum’s a dysfunctional Europe. museum more visitor friendly. collection. Thanks to his The lesson of the exhibition But much of the credit must beguiling delivery, both is that German history is go to him for his passionate erudite and puckish, the not about one man seizing belief that history should be podcasts have been all power into his hands but central to our understanding downloaded 24 million times.
    [Show full text]
  • Germany: Memories of a Nation PDF Book
    GERMANY: MEMORIES OF A NATION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Neil MacGregor | 624 pages | 07 Apr 2016 | Penguin Books Ltd | 9780141979786 | English | London, United Kingdom Germany: Memories of a Nation PDF Book There is no other that can compete with it. A cultural, artistic and historic narrative of the German nation, from Hermann the defeater of the Roman Empire up to the present day. He left to assume the editorship of The Burlington Magazine. Quotes from Germany: Memories My interest in the chapters varied due to their subject but I did learn a lot, especially about the culture and arts. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, explores years of Germany's complex and often challenging history using objects, art, landmarks and literature. Neil MacGregor focuses on the long tradition of German metalwork, from clocks to cars. It would have dwarfed completely the nearby Reichstag, and been an uncomfortable, megalomaniac neighbour to the Brandenburg Gate, itself a favourite site for Nazi marches and rallies. Anyone who wants to understand Germany should read this. The passage in question gives a good idea of how the book works. Return to Book Page. This book actually deals with this as well in a really excellent way. I didn't realize that Germany is as much an "imagined community" Benedict Anderson as the Southeast Asian nations created by Europe in the s. And frankly, some simple parts surprised me. Neil MacGregor focuses on how the Nazis attacked art they viewed as degenerate. Society and Integration. Prague once part of Germany and a brief history of Kafka 4.
    [Show full text]