From Italy to China—just like the journeys that made Marco Polo famous in the 13th century— “Le Devisement dou Monde: Italian drawings on the Far East” arrives at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. The exhibition marks the 700th anniversary of the death of the great Venetian explorer.
Curated by Angela Tecce, the exhibition is organised by the Garuzzo Foundation with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Embassy of Italy in Beijing, the Italian Cultural Institutes of Beijing and Shanghai, in collaboration with the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF), the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, and with the contribution of FlyRen Energy Group.
Conceived to celebrate Marco Polo’s journey and cultural legacy through the immediate, intimate, and universal language of drawing, the exhibition will open on 8 May 2025 at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, one of the most important and dynamic cultural institutions in the Chinese contemporary art scene.
Through a refined selection of works on paper by 44 artists, Le Devisement dou Monde sets up a dialogue among drawings by Italian artists—ranging from established Masters to the most promising and acclaimed emerging talents—in a journey that explores the visual, cultural, and symbolic influence of the Far East on contemporary Italian art. Some of the works have been created specifically for the project, conceived as a tribute to the spirit of exploration, observation, and knowledge that inspired Marco Polo’s travels.
The title of the exhibition is taken from the earliest surviving version of Il Milione, written in Franco-Venetian as Le Devisement dou Monde— “The Description of the World”. Just as Marco Polo sought to recount the wonders he witnessed while travelling and living in such distant and unfamiliar lands, the exhibition seeks to offer, through drawing, a glimpse into our imagination shaped by the millennia-old culture of the East and the many and varied ties that have bound us to it for centuries.
The exhibition will also be held in Venice in 2026 as part of the official programme of the Marco Polo National Committee.
