The exhibition “Memories of Serenissima” was opened on 2 February at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York. The exhibition, curated by Marco Bertoli, will run until 2 March. It is part of the festival “La Serenissima: Music and Arts from the Venetian Republic” organised by Carnegie Hall. It is an extraordinary homage to the city of Venice with concerts that include both vocal masterpieces and virtuoso instrumental performances.
The celebrations are spread through the city with events held at important cultural institutions including debates, theatre performances and art exhibitions which will not only explore the flourishing culture of the Venetian Republic but also its scandalous, licentious and libertine life style that the passing of time has blurred.
“Memories of Serenissima” is the closing event of a three-year project dedicated to Italian 19th Century painting, which featured two exhibitions dedicated to the Macchiaioli and the Neapolitan School at the Italian Cultural Institute.
On show is a selected group of works of different genres dating to the second half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, which reveal how the historic memory and artistic connection with the Republic was still thriving in the decades following its fall. The paintings range from depictions of the Venetian lagoon, whose skies and waters seem to touch, to the Venetian rural landscapes and cityscapes, to the canals and church steeples which enliven the city’s everyday life: all the works are characterised by an extraordinary light created through the study of a fleeting and sudden light effect.
