This special exhibition, presented in the staircase hall of the Neues Museum, offers a dialogue on the meaning of time, mortality and the connection between past and present. Contemporary art meets historical space, refers to ancient models and offers a modern adaptation of the classical reception of the myth of the Dioscuri, who walk eternally between death and life.
Image gallery
Starting point: The myth
The two unequal twins Castor and Polydeuces – sons of the beautiful king's daughter Leda – were conceived in one night by different fathers. Castor by Leda's husband, the Spartan king Tyndareos, and Polydeuces by the god Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. While Castor is mortal, Polydeuces’ father Zeus grants him immortality.
The twins are known as the Dioscuri and take part in the search for the Golden Fleece and in Heracles’ battle against the Amazons. When the mortal Castor was killed, Polydeuces asked Zeus to take away his immortality so that he and his twin brother could spend eternity together in Hades, the realm of the dead. Zeus, moved by the twins’ love that transcends death, gives Polydeuces the choice of remaining eternally young or spending one day with his brother in Hades, and one day on Olympus among the gods. Polydeuces chooses mortality and from then on, both brothers alternate daily between death and life.
Interpretation: The artwork
The Given Day, the large-scale artwork by the German-British artist Michael Müller is based on the ancient Greek myth and picks up on the centrepiece of the twins’ bond that overcome death. The artist captures the recurring the 24 hours of the brothers walking through the worlds in a visually stunning artwork: from the bright day on Olympus, they both descend into the darkness of Hades. The artist, Michael Müller, painted each section exclusively at the corresponding hour of the day or night and thus experienced the repetitive journey himself.
Dialogue: The presentation
The location for the presentation of this monumental artwork was deliberately chosen. The story of the Dioscuri, with their love for each other that overcame mortality, not only inspired artists in the ancient times. Even the classicism of the 19th century could not resist its appeal. Monumental figures of twins taming their horses once stood in the staircase hall of the Neues Museum. They were casts of the originals from the Piazza dei Monte Cavallo in front of the Quirin Palace in Rome. Like large parts of the staircase itself, the sculptures were destroyed during the Second World War. Eighty years later, a modern adaptation brings this part of the building's history back to life.Curatorial Team
The exhibition was created and curated by Philipp Bollmann in collaboration with the artist Michael Müller and in co-operation with the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung (Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection) and the Alien Athena Foundation for Art.Offers and events
In addition to the large-scale artwork, exhibits on the myth of the Dioscuri from the Papyrussammlung (Papyrus Collection), the Münzkabinett (Numismatic Collection) and the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities) will interact with Müller’s work.The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive program of events and is part of the 200th anniversary celebration of the Museum Island. The program will feature guided tours by curators and artists, readings and discussions, concerts and performances.
A special exhibition of the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
