LEGO Pompeii is notable for being among the largest of all Lego historical models. [1] Lego Pompeii was developed by Ryan McNaught of Melbourne, Australia, a notable Lego artist known as "The Brickman." [2]
LEGO Pompeii is notable for being among the largest of all Lego historical models. [1] Lego Pompeii was developed by Ryan McNaught of Melbourne, Australia, a notable Lego artist known as "The Brickman." [2]
The LEGO Pompeii exhibition (as it is also known) is currently on display at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, which is located opposite the Quadrangle in the University of Sydney, where it was moved after the closure of the Nicholson Museum in February 2020. The exhibition was commissioned by the Nicholson Museum and opened on 10 January 2015. The historical model is used to commemorate three historical moments in the history of Pompeii. Firstly, it commemorates the moment in 79AD when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted. Secondly, it commemorates the period when it was discovered again during the 1700s. It is also a stylised representation of what Pompeii looks like today. [1] The display also depicts excavation sites that have occurred in Pompeii, as well as archaeologists including Fiorelli, Spinazzola and Maiuri. [3]
The material of construction of Lego Pompeii contributes to its notability. Though tied to "classical antiquity," this stylised representation of the ruined city of Pompeii is a product of modernity. The Nicholson Museum, the oldest university museum in Australia, boasts is reported to be "home to the largest collection of antiquities in the Southern Hemisphere." [4] The Lego Pompeii installation, constructed from plastic, a synthetic material of the modern age, therefore stands in contradistinction to the other artefacts, all antiquities in the Museum.
In the LEGO Pompeii display, developer Ryan McNaught mixes both fact and fiction. For example, he uses several popular culture references in his model. An example of this is one section of the display in which we can see the band Pink Floyd performing at the Amphitheatre. Another example is a depiction of Mozart playing the piano in the Temple of Isis. [5]
Other historical models developed by McNaught from LEGO blocks include "The Colosseum" and "LEGO Acropolis." The LEGO Colusseum, the largest of McNaught's historical models, consists of 200,000 LEGO blocks and the Colosseum represented in cross-section, showing half of its present-day "ruined form." It also includes a "backstage" which depicts the holding area for condemned prisoners, ferocious animals and gladiators comprising 60,000 blocks. The University of Sydney's Nicholson Museum sponsored the launch of the LEGO Colosseum in its Quadrangle in July 2012, and was then on exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum until July 30, 2012. [6] The University of Sydney also commissioned LEGO Acropolis, which took McNaught 300 hours to build. The exhibit consisted of 120,000 LEGO bricks and the University donated to the representation of the Acropolis to the Acropolis Museum. [7] [8]
Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. As of 2021, Lego was the largest toy company in the world. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can be taken apart again, and the pieces reused to make new things.
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art, an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy and Western civilization.
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia, and is regarded as one of the world's leading universities. The university is one of Australia's six sandstone universities. The university comprises eight academic faculties and university schools, through which it offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel.
The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam (1745–1816), and comprises one of the best collections of antiquities and modern art in western Europe. With over half a million objects and artworks in its collections, the displays in the Museum explore world history and art from antiquity to the present. The treasures of the museum include artworks by Monet, Picasso, Rubens, Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Van Dyck, and Canaletto, as well as a winged bas-relief from Nimrud. Admission to the public is always free.
Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec vogue took as its starting point the earlier expressions of the Neoclassical style inspired by 18th-century excavations at Pompeii, which resumed in earnest in 1848, and similar excavations at Herculaneum. The style mixed elements of the Graeco-Roman, Pompeian, Adam and Egyptian Revival styles into "a richly eclectic polychrome mélange." "The style enjoyed a vogue in the United States, and had a short-lived impact on interior design in England and elsewhere."
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle modeling, miniature figure modeling, or aircraft modeling.
The Nicholson Museum was an archaeological museum at the University of Sydney home to the Nicholson Collection, the largest collection of antiquities in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Founded in 1860, the collection spans the ancient world with primary collection areas including ancient Egypt, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and the Near East. The museum closed permanently in February 2020, and the Nicholson Collection is now housed in the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, open from November 2020. The museum was located in the main quadrangle of the University.
The Swedish History Museum is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preserving Swedish historical items as well as making knowledge about history available to the public.
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is an important Italian archaeological museum, particularly for ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes works from Greek, Roman and Renaissance times, and especially Roman artifacts from the nearby Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum sites. From 1816 to 1861 it was known as Real Museo Borbonico.
The Quadrangle is the common name for a cluster of museums and cultural institutions in Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, on Chestnut Street between State and Edwards Streets.
Nathan Sawaya is an American artist who builds custom three-dimensional sculptures and large-scale mosaics from popular everyday items and is best known for his work with standard LEGO building bricks.
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.
The Archaeological Museum of Lamia is a museum within the archaeological site of Lamia Castle in Lamia, Greece. The museum is housed in a refurbished barracks built in 1830 by King Otto of Greece. It presents prehistoric and Classical antiquities, covering the Neolithic era, Helladic period, Early Iron Age, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods.
The MACM, the Mougins Museum of Classical Art is an art museum located in the village of Mougins, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, France. It is 30 minutes from Nice airport and 15 minutes from the centre of Cannes.
Gods in Color or Gods in Colour (original title in German: Bunte Götter – Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur is a travelling exhibition of varying format and extent that has been shown in multiple cities worldwide. Its subject is ancient polychromy, i.e. the original, brightly-painted, appearance of ancient sculpture and architecture.
The University of Sydney Quadrangle is a prominent quadrangle formed through the construction of several Sydney sandstone buildings located within The University of Sydney Camperdown Campus, adjacent to Parramatta Road, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Quadrangle is also called The University of Sydney Main Quadrangle. The Quadrangle and its associated main building and interior was listed on the City of Sydney local government heritage list on 14 December 2012.
Brickvention is an annual volunteer-run fan-based Lego convention held in Victoria, Australia. Brickvention is held annually on the third weekend of January at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Brickvention 2021 was held on 17–18 January 2021.
Ryan "The Brickman" McNaught, is an Australian Lego designer and Lego Certified Professional. He is one of only twenty one professionals globally and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2019, he joined Channel Nine's TV series Lego Masters Australia, as the main competition judge alongside host Hamish Blake.