# @gettymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CIMIDihntsu
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34229675-gettymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/333c1bba31.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-11-29T21:17:54.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Getty (@gettymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/gettymuseum

## Caption

Can art have a good or a bad side?

We mean literally. Swipe to see the front and back sides of this marble sarcophagus.

On the front, a ritual procession floods the composition—satyrs, maenads, and panthers accompany Dionysos, the god of wine, as he approaches the sleeping figure of Ariadne.

On the back, a train of maenads interrupts a group stomping on grapes in a vat, the necessary labor required to have such a party.

For Roman sculpture, areas that are uncarved or unpolished are clues to us today about how a piece was originally intended to be viewed or displayed.

The carving on the back is much more shallow and has a simplified design. What does this tell us about the ideal viewing angle?

Picture this: the sarcophagus was placed into a semi-circular niche in the Tomb of Sempronii in Rome, where the front and possibly the sides would have been seen by decades of family mourners. Today it sits up against a wall at the Getty Villa, suggesting how it might have been seen in antiquity.
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🏷:
#HiddenHistory #Storiesbehindtheart #Roman #art #sarcophagus #ancient #arthistory #gettyvilla

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 3,358
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- **Comments:** 26

## Tags

art, arthistory, gettyvilla, storiesbehindtheart, roman, ancient, sarcophagus, hiddenhistory

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