*cy twombly: coronation of sesostris
8 march-28 april 2018
gagosian | 980 madison avenue | new york, NY
the mythological one day rise and fall of ancient egyptian warrior, conqueror, and pharaoh , sesostris.
drawn, painted, and written in 10 parts.
.jpg "coronation 1")
cy twombly: coronation of sesostris
installation view | gagosian | 980 madison avenue | new york, NY
photo credit rob mckeever via gagosian
.jpg "1")
the rising sun [an ideogram for sesostris]
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 1 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
.jpg "2")
the wheeled chariot of sesotris [an ideogram for military conquest]
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 2 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the epigraph:
‘eros, weaver [of myth],
eros, sweet and bitter,
eros bringer of pain.’
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 3 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the shining sun after rising high into the sky
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 4 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the arrival of the solar barque [sun barge or sun boat] of sesostris
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 5 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
an interpretation of the poem ‘when the gods depart’
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 6 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the sun boat burns and disintegrates
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 7 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the sun boat dissolves into its reflection, and sinks into the sea [an allusion to j.w.m. turner (1775-1851)]
‘they (the gods) are leaving,
glorious but unheeded,
as the mortal body sinks into oblivion,
scarcely registering their passing.
nunc est bibendum:
sorrows are drowned,
the boat is a drunken boat.’ [barely legible]
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 8 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the burnt wreckage of the sun boat
‘leaving paphos ringed with waves’
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 9 | 2000 | Acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
the epigraph, repeated:
‘leaving kypros the lovely
and paphos ringed with waves.’ [illegible]
‘eros, weaver of myth,
eros sweet and bitter,
eros bringer of pain.’
cy twombly (1928-2011) | coronation of sesostris | panel 10 | 2000 | acrylic, crayon, and pencil on canvas
collection of françois pinault | palazzo grassi | venice, italy
photo credit (c) cy twombly foundation via tate
*exhibited concurrently with cy twombly: in beauty it is finished at gagosian | 522 west 21st street | new york, NY.
click here to read my post about cy twombly: in beauty it is finished.
click here to read a tate museum research publication about coronation of sesostris.