Canova Gloria Trevigiana
From May 14 to September 25, 2022, you can visit "Canova Gloria Trevigiana. From the Classical beauty to the Romantic announcement.", the great exhibition curated by Fabrizio Malachin, Giuseppe Pavanello, and Nico Stringa at the Bailo Museum.
The exhibit recreates the spaces of palazzo Papafava as thought by Canova himself, where the comparison between Ancient and Modern is brought to its pure essence: Apollo del Belvedere is compared to Perseo trionfante, while the Gladiatore Borghese, another renowned sculpture, is correlated to the Creugante. It is the "perfect theorem". In addition, for the first time, the sculptures are displayed on their original base, restored for the occasion.
The themes of the exhibition are multiple: from the heroic sculptures, with the Horse, a plaster statue never exposed before that was a preparatory study for the famous group Teseo in lotta con il Centauro, to the Romantic modernity, with meditations on the afflicted female figure (this is the case of the Maddalene) and kind and loving groups (Amore e Psiche). Then, portraits, engravings, Canova's celebrations (in 1957 in Treviso in particular), photography: a rich path of more than 150 artworks and 11 sections.
The great sculptor from Treviso is the protagonist of the exhibition, but the civic collections are also involved. Not only the Galleria dell'800 but also various works about Canova that were never shown before, such as a bust with the Portrait of Antonio Canova by Antonio d'Este. But there is more: the cast of the hand and the funeral mask of the artist; a corpus of unpublished letters; the great book with 86 engravings of Canova's works gifted by his brother Gianbattista Sartori Canova to the town of Treviso in 1837. Besides, a series of Canovian pieces that rarely left the secret storage rooms of the Civic Museums of Treviso to be exhibited. Among those, is the precious preparatory sketch of the Tre Grazie.
The Galleria dell'800 is the natural prosecution of the exhibition: it consists of artworks of great interest, in a new display that enhances the civic heritage with a focus on the new trends and the multimedia, but also on the scientific basis. Indeed, the great retrospective on "Canova Gloria Trevigiana" introduces a new section of the museum all dedicated to the XIX Century: it is a natural transition that leads to discovering the art of Treviso and Veneto starting from the years when Canova had the spotlight and developing throughout the century. In this section, we find well-known artists and artworks next to others unveiled in this new set-up, confined in the storage of the museums due to the limited spaces of the "old" Bailo Museum, until now.
The journey in the "Unveiled Ottocoento" starts with the majestic portraits of the "founding fathers" of the Civic Gallery: she is Margherita Prati Grimaldi, the subject of the bright painting by Andrea Appiani; he is Sante Giacomelli, in the portrait by Natale Schiavoni. In 1851, the noblewoman left a group of paintings to the town of Treviso and these would become the first core of the Civic Gallery, while the second, in 1874, left 54 artworks, mostly contemporary to his time, that are the heart of what is today the Gallery of '800.
The exhibition displays also the "Gruppo di famiglia" by Francesco Hayez, where the painter portrays himself as a young 16-years-old boy: this is the first known painting of the artist.
Two important features further enrich the new Galleria Canova in the museum. Firstly, almost an "exhibition within the exhibition", a group of 30 extraordinary artistic photographs of Canova's statues by Fabio Zonta. The interpretative lens of the photographer enhances the tridimensionality of the statues, highlighting details, subjects, and expressions.
Secondly, the creative intervention of Anderson Tegon with Pepper's Ghost: a suggestive multimedia show within the Gallery.
The New Bailo characterizes itself as a place of artistic contamination, with a leading role in the enhancement of the civic heritage, focusing on new trends and multimedia, never renouncing the scientific basis.
Tickets
Full price: € 9
Reduced price (over-65, groups, and higher education students): € 6
Free (under 18, guides accompanying groups)
Combination ticket (Canova exhibit/Museo Bailo + Museo Santa Caterina): full price €13; reduced price € 9.
Further information at the website of the exhibition or by writing an email at prenotazioni@museicivicitreviso.it
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