(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Top Comments: Gettin' My Kicks [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-20
Here at Top Comments we welcome longtime as well as brand new Daily Kos readers to join us at 10pm Eastern. We strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find!
So...I did make it to The Art Institute of Chicago last Saturday but I stopped across the street from the museum first...to get my kicks!
And then I turned to face the museum.
Almost as impressive as the lions in front of the 42nd Street Library in NYC. Almost.
Went inside and...I had forgotten just how big The Art Institute is. I also forgot to carry a tote bag with me instead of a backpack so I had to check the backpack in but I did get to keep the phone.
There were many many sculptures of emperors, of mythological figures, of sarcophagi, and even a few original sculptures dated before the Imperial Period of Rome. For some reason, it was one of those late Roman Republican sculptures that I was the most moved by.
The title of the bust is “Portrait of a Young Woman known as the Maiden of Vulci” Apparently, this was a sculpture commissioned by the woman’s family; a woman of elite status. 95% of the sculptures in the exhibit were from the Imperial Period; it mattered to me, for some reason, that this is dated from the Republican Period.
Apparently, the Art Institute was so taken by the sculpture that it is included in their online announcement of this collection, “Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection.”
Nearly half of these sculptures, which range in date from the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, have not been publicly displayed in more than 70 years and have been newly cleaned, conserved, and studied specifically for this exhibition, making for a spectacular opportunity to experience their first public presentation in decades. The Torlonia Collection is not only the largest private collection of Roman marble sculptures in Italy, but it is also arguably the most important of such private collections in the world. Comprising 622 works and a wide range of sculptural types and subjects, its holdings rival those of major institutions in Europe, including the Capitoline and Vatican Museums.
You do not know how hard that was to resist the temptation to go upstairs and look at the finest collection of Impressionist art in the world (wheatstacks!...and in spite of my love for Monet’s series, my absolute favorite painting in that part of the collection is Renoir’s “Two Sisters (On the Terrace).”
But as I left the museum, I was UTTERLY taken in by Indian artist Raqib Shaw and a mere portion of his painting, “Paradise Lost.”
And then I want on to my seminar on Book 10 of Ovid’s Metamorphosis. About 15 of us discussed why Orpheus sang the songs of grief and change that he sung in that book.
All the while, not forgetting what was also going on two blocks away.
Not bad for a day in the big city.
Comments below the fold.
TOP COMMENTS
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
No nominations or highlights tonight.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, Thursday, June 19, 2025, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/20/2329233/-Top-Comments-Gettin-My-Kicks?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
