Italian Gifts

Tesori d’Arte: Italian Art Exhibitions Fall 2008-2009

Italy has so much to offer in arts and culture that some planning ahead is advised if you’re heading there this fall; this year’s array of art exhibitions is a wealth of riches.

Brace yourself or you might come away with Stendhal Syndrome among your souvenirs! Stendhal Syndrome (or Florence Syndrome) is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, especially when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. Let the Syndrome begin!

TREVISO:

CANALETTO, VENEZIA ED I SUOI SPLENDORI (Venice and Her Splendors) 

Antonio Canal (1697-1769) was the son of a theater backdrop painter from Venice, who devoted his life to fine art painting. Venezia – La Serenissima – was his favorite subject. His different way of viewing and his use of light gained him international fame in his lifetime, a period when Venice represented a dream of beauty for the rest of Europe.

VENICE:

ITALICS: ARTE ITALIANA FRA TRADIZIONE E RIVOLUZIONE 1968 -2008 (Italian Art Between Tradition and Revolution)

An extraordinary collection of 250 works by 107 contemporary Italian artists.

 

ROME:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 GIOVANNI BELLINI

This show proudly exhibits about three-fourths of the known production of this great artist, patiently brought together from around the world.

Giovanni Bellini, born in Venice in 1435, hardly needs an introduction. From a family of well known painters, he influenced the great painters of his time.
Albrecht Durer referred to Bellini as the best painter of them all. This exhibition showcases not only Bellini’s famous Madonna paintings and other sacred art canvases, but includes a broad selection of his profane paintings as well.

ETRUSCHI: THE ANCIENT CITIES OF LAZIO

Veii, Cerveteri, Vulci, Tarquinia; the show is devoted to the ever-so-fascinating Etruscan culture, the four ancient cities, their ties to Rome,
and the important influence the Etruscan culture had on the Romans.

 

 

 BRUNO MUNARI

This exhibition features the work of Bruno Munari (1907- 1998), a versatile and multi-faceted Milanese artist and designer.  An exponent of the Futurist movement, Munari applied his creativity to sculpture, graphic design, illustration, industrial design and games.

The new Ara Pacis Museum in Rome opened in the spring of 2006. The museum was designed by the internationally renowned architect Richard Meier and has been subject to much controversy and criticism. The Ara Pacis – the centerpiece of the museum – is a 2,000 year old "Altar of Peace" that was used (paradoxically) for sacrifices; it is a commanding work of Roman art and architecture that had been lost to civilization for centuries.

FLORENCE:

 

 

 

 

CATERINA e MARIA DE’ MEDICI: DONNE AL POTERE (Women In Power)

This exhibition focuses on the power of imagery and how images of powerful women were used by the two Medici Queens of France to legitimize their rule at a time when women in such positions were rare.

 

 —Sibylla Vogel