Word: commodus
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...American reputation bottomed out in 1964 with a show of nine florid paintings called Discourse on Commodus. They were trashed as a fiasco, in print and by word of mouth. Commodus was the degenerate son of Marcus Aurelius; he became Emperor in the 2nd century A.D., went mad and was strangled. Given the New York art world's self-absorption at the time, it seems fitting that Commodus' assassin was an athlete named Narcissus. Perhaps because of the trauma of their reception, the Commodus paintings are not in moma's show. In any case, Twombly was repatriated to America...