On 31 July 2025, the exhibition “Culture and Society in the 19th-century collection of the Capodimonte Museum” was inaugurated at the My Art Museum in Seoul, marking the first exhibition in Asia entirely dedicated to the 19th-century collection of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples.
The opening ceremony was attended by Italian and Korean institutional representatives, the director of the hosting museum, Yi Taegun, the director of the Capodimonte Museum and Royal Park Collection, Eike Schmidt, the Italian Ambassador to Seoul, Emilia Gatto, the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Seoul, Michela Linda Magrì, as well as figures from the local cultural, academic, and media sectors.
The exhibition features 74 works (68 oil paintings, one watercolour, one sketch, and 4 pastels) by artists such as Giovanni Boldini, Giacomo Balla, Giuseppe De Nittis, and Gioacchino Toma, among the most significant names of 19th-century Italian art.
The display offers a meaningful insight into 19th-century Italy, with particular reference to the post-unification Neapolitan context, highlighting the role of women in society and culture of the time, as well as the portrayal of everyday life through portraits and domestic scenes.
