Cartier and Myths at the Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums, in Palazzo Nuovo, host a prestigious exhibition featuring some of the refined masterpieces from the Maison Cartier, most of which are from the Cartier Collection’s heritage.

Combining art and beauty, these splendid pieces, created by Cartier's craftsmanship, dialogue with the marble works of the Albani Collection and a set of artefacts of exceptional historical and artistic value, provided by the Capitoline Superintendency, renowned Italian and international institutions, and important private collections.

Curated by jewellery historian Bianca Cappello, archaeologist Stéphane Verger and Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce, the exhibition, the first to be hosted in the 17th-century Capitoline Museums palace, is an evocative journey through aesthetics, art and memory, focusing on the intense bond between Cartier, Italy and Rome, and portraying how classical antiquity and the aesthetic and symbolic repertoire of ancient Greece and Rome have been an extraordinary source of inspiration for the Maison's iconic jewellery.

Enriched with audiovisual elements, olfactory installations by Mathilde Laurent, perfumer at Maison Cartier, and semi-precious stones from Cartier's glyptic workshop, the exhibition path explores the use of the classical repertoire, reinterpretations from the first half of the 20th century, techniques and jewellery craftsmanship, with references to the Roman era, in Cartier's creations, showing, by comparing the Maison's works with the gods of Palazzo Nuovo – Aphrodite and Dionysus, Apollo and Heracles, Zeus and Demeter, the power of mythological inspiration in Cartier's creative imagination since the beginning of the last century.

The marble sculptures in Palazzo Nuovo represented important models of reference for European art. The exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into how the ancient repertoire has inspired jewellery: from the pastiches of the great goldsmiths and collectors of the 19th century, including the Castellani family in Rome, to the Neoclassical Garland style, from post-war creations inspired by Jean Cocteau to contemporary pieces, up to the reinterpretation of antiquity.

Cartier and Myths at the Capitoline Museums is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, and organised in collaboration with Maison Cartier, with the support of Zètema Progetto Cultura. The exhibition design is by Sylvain Roca, with an extraordinary creative contribution by Master Dante Ferretti.

Photo: Tiara, Cartier Paris, special order, 1907. Platinum, round old-cut diamonds, natural pearls, millegrain setting