Kadriorg exhibition examines Ovid through power, violence and gender

A new exhibition at Kadriorg Art Museum explores artworks inspired by the myths of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The show brings together works from museums in Estonia, Czechia, France and Sweden, as well as rare historical books from libraries, ERR reports.

The exhibition, titled “Metamorphoses. Power. Violence. Gender”, takes as its starting point the ceiling painting “Diana and Actaeon” in the main hall of Kadriorg Palace. The painting depicts a myth from Ovid’s work.

Curator Kertu Männiste said the exhibition places the palace painting in the wider context of European art and examines which stories from Metamorphoses artists have depicted, what meanings they have given them, and how they have represented them.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses contains more than 250 Greek and Roman myths. Its stories of the gods’ love affairs and physical transformations have inspired artists from the late Middle Ages to the present day, and the work has been called the “Bible of artists”.

Co-curator Sophie Turner said Ovid and his work are surrounded by mystery. She said it is unclear what he intended to achieve with his texts, which she described as playful and open to multiple interpretations. That ambiguity, she said, is why the stories continue to be reinterpreted.

The exhibition also marks Kadriorg Art Museum’s first collaboration with a French heritage-protection organisation that preserves the collections and furnishings of historic royal palaces. Three 17th-century tapestries from its collections are on display.

The exhibition will remain open at Kadriorg Art Museum until March 2027.