Evening Special Tour of “Metamorphoses. Power. Violence. Gender” at Kadriorg Art Museum

The evening exhibition tour offers a special opportunity to explore the exhibition in a small group, in the quiet of the closed museum, guided by an art historian.

The work Metamorphoses by the ancient Roman poet Ovid has been called the artists’ Bible. This collection of more than 250 myths is one of the most influential and extensive literary sources of mythological narratives. It is the source of familiar and often retold myths about Narcissus, Apollo and Daphne, Jupiter’s love affairs, and various physical transformations—stories that have inspired artists for centuries. So, in a way, everyone knows Ovid’s work, as it has helped shape our general understanding of classical mythology.

The exhibition takes as its starting point the ceiling painting Diana and Actaeon in the main hall of Kadriorg Palace, which depicts one of the myths from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. During the tour, we will place interpretations of this and several other myths in the broader context of 18th-century court culture and European cultural history, and explore how European rulers and interest groups in the 17th and 18th centuries used Ovid’s work and life for ideological purposes.

Historical books and works of art on loan to the exhibition from the collections of the French heritage organisation Manufactures nationales – Sèvres & Mobilier national, the National Gallery in Prague, the University of Tartu Library, the National Library of Latvia and other lenders show how myths have provided diverse material for creating secular works of art with different moral and emotional qualities.

The exhibition is accompanied by a book that, alongside abundant illustrations, includes six translations of Ovid’s myths published in Estonian for the first time. The poems have been translated from Latin into Estonian by classical philologist Maria-Kristiina Lotman, Associate Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Tartu.

Kerttu Männiste is an art historian and curator at Kadriorg Art Museum. She has curated exhibitions on a wide range of themes at Kadriorg Art Museum, Mikkeli Museum and Adamson-Eric Museum, including On Stage and on Canvas and The Dance of Colours: Finnish Modernist Art. Alongside curating, she considers engaging with museum audiences very important: introducing art history to different groups through tours and educational programmes, and inspiring a love of and enthusiasm for art.

Tickets: €22/20. Advance tickets are available through Fienta. If places remain, tickets can be purchased at the Kadriorg Art Museum ticket office from one hour before the start.