Cy Twombly has painted on the ceiling of the Salle de Bronzes in the Sully wing of the Louvre a large work that emulates the trompe-l’oeil effect of painted ceilings in grand halls all over Europe, the illusion of no ceiling at all, but rather an unobstructed view of the blue heavens above. What are those recurring circles? Are they planets, among which the immortals abide, the greatest sculptors of Greece whose names are written on the ceiling? The same mix of astrology and human greatness may be found on the ceiling of another chamber in the Louvre, the outlandish Galerie d’Apollon, where names of famous artists are surmounted by the signs of the zodiac.
French museums started the practice of juxtaposing contemporary art with classical. It is brilliantly refreshing and it serves to make the works of a permanent collection actually work for their keep rather than just hang in a passive enfilade according to date, style and country of origin. And it does enhance each work, often in very surprising ways, by placing them side by side rather like a photo of two siblings might elucidate a resemblance not evident before.
Different from Deconstruction, that endgame of cubist fracture, this practice seeks to establish provocative new unities, or affinities at least, between dissimilar works of art.
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