Artist Date | A Special Visit to the Cartier Show

An irresistable invitation from the Professional Women’s Association brought me to the Capitoline Museum in heart of Piazza Vittoria in Rome to see the precious Cartier exhibition. The most powerful part wasn’t “luxury” — it was the juxtaposition.

From the red-carpeted staircase lined with mirrors leading to the exhibit, the show encompassed a sense of extraordinary elegance and refinement despite the lavish nature of its objects. Organized by theme and myth, the gems imagined by Louis Cartier were set in fabric-lined cases amidst ancient sculptures, busts and inscriptions.

 

The exhibition explores how classical myths have long served as muses for Cartier, tracing the Maison’s enduring fascination with Greece and Rome, and revealed how ancient motifs have been continually reinterpreted into jewelry of distinctly modern character, with particular emphasis on Cartier’s deep connection to Italy and to Rome itself. These motifs can be literal – like arrows and wings for Cupid-like jewelry; or more ethereal like a gorgeous metal necklace in the “Hephastaus” section, as if the god had helped forge it. Subtle sensory elements included an immersion into Cartier’s rose perfume in an alcove devoted to the figure of Venus.

 

 

Experiencing the show guided by an expert historian, alongside a fabulous group of women made it even more meaningful. Jewelry is historically tied to status and even power; and yet the real power in the room is the women themselves – leaders, creators, mothers. Theis was the ultimate juxtaposition of the ancient, the artistry of the gems and my dynamic peers.