Cy Twombly Fifty Days at Iliam

An exploration of Cy Twombly's Fifty Days at Iliam, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, showing how the images relate to Homer's Iliad. Scroll down for links to the individual images.
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Overview of the entire installation

Shield of Achilles

Heroes of the Achaeans

Vengeance

Achaeans in Battle

Fire that Consumes

Shades of Achilles, Patroclus and Hector

House of Priam

Ilians in Battle

Shades of Eternal Night

Heroes of the Ilians

[madelineullom]

This video addresses the challenge of understanding Twombly’s abstract art by bringing meaning to the blurred and frenetic mark making. Narration and music blend to bring understanding of sequential scenes of aggression, violence, death and emptiness. A powerful interpretation!

[audreyescoll]

Thank you John for presenting this dramatic and enlightening video of Twombly"s expressive artistic vision.

[jillfeldman]

Wow. This is so interesting. I strongly recommend it if you are interested in contemporary art.

[everettziegenfuss]

Just added so much more meaning and power to my favorite body of work at this point in my life, thank you. I wish I found this sooner.

[patriciadanzon]

An enlightening and moving interpretation of Cy Twombly's art and the Trojan war. Thank you, John and team!

[ernestolombardo]

"Ancient things are new things." - every piece is brand new for each set of eyeballs in front of it for the first time, no matter how ancient the piece may be. It is new over and over again, day after day after day for decades, or centuries. Or millennia. The way one responds to it is an independent, parallel matter.

[debraduckman]

Thank you so I am going to see these on Saturday and you have given me a good background and my excitement has grown greatly to stand in front of these

[jeanhess]

Thank you for this truly bracing presentation. Twombly is and always will be my favorite artist and I have never felt the need for verbal explanations -- I can lose myself in his marks and colors and the way he incorporates words as gestures that sort of slip by any one meaning. And yet here Immerwahr provides an infrastructure of sound and story that actually adds another dimension of pleasure.

[lalaoneil]

Thank you for making this video. I have gone to see this exhibit at least five times. I could not understand why I found it so compelling. Thank you.

[bessielee]

thank you for the great storytelling... I saw the exhibit in Paris- so amazing...

[bigblackbox]

Really refreshing to watch, helps us to realise certain motifs in Twombly’s work but ultimately gets us enthralled in the narrative of these paintings

[carolhauptfuhrer]

Really great, John. Your film is a wonderful resource forall of us guides! Bravo!

[bobweaver]

A fine video, John. It all comes together beautifully.

[missybeegood]

Thank you John! I loved your presentation, Interpretation of the man Whose work I adore!

[robertdufour]

Thank You for this magnificent presentation! You have given me much to think about.

[shivaever]

Truly a most wonderful video.
Thank you so so much, it was a very valuable learning experience 🙏

[Evilsinder]

wish to have more of these kind of video, with narration and music and especially this narrator

[missybeegood]

Ernesto, well put!
That is what makes us human. We all see things differently.
I can say I am so thankful for my life gift of delving into the creations with awe of this Genius, Cy Twombly!

[lurker]

Well done. It clarifies the thread connecting the images.

[merlehweismer]

Thank you for a very comprehensive description. What is next?