Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visit

Yesterday my friend Helena and I visited the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond. We purchased tickets to see a special exhibit, Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China. The exhibit was well-laid out and interesting, and the terracotta statues were lifelike and breathtakingly beautiful.

We also visited another special exhibit, The Horse in Ancient Greek Art. This exhibit was free and not nearly as crowded but just as enjoyable. The exhibits were mostly vase-paintings. I'll share photos of my two favorite pieces.

Pegasus at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Horse Groomer at the VMFA in Richmond, Virginia.

While at the museum we stopped to see a well-preserved statue of Caligula, a Roman emperor. I especially liked an accompanying educational explanation of what a toga praetexta and a toga picta would have looked like on Caligula. The latter would have been worn only in triumphal processions. I teach Latin, so it's nice to have a visual for the kinds of clothing we sometimes read about in our upper-level classes.

Caligula in a toga praetexta, left, and a toga picta, right.