The show “Raphael, Portrait Painter” has opened in Tunis, until 28 March, at the Macam Gallery of the Musée National d’art modern et contemporain de la Cité de la Culture of Tunis, featuring 14 very high definition digital reproductions of the portraits by the world-famous Renaissance painter from Urbino.
“This important event – said Ambassador Lorenzo Fanara at the opening ceremony – displays one of the best things Italy has to offer: the Renaissance, as a season of marvellous artistic ideals and achievement, and Raphael, as a model of sublime creativity and of Italy’s capacity for innovation”.
The Tunis show is the first leg of a tour that will continue in Pristina, Helsinki, Addis Abeba and Ankara, and is part of the Opera Omnia Project, sponsored by the Italian Foreign Ministry and Raicom and organised in Tunis by the Italian Institute of Culture in partnership with the Tunisian Ministry for Cultural Affairs.
Thanks to the use of innovatory techniques, and based on photographs from the archives of the State broadcaster Rai, the life-size reproductions of the paintings maintain all the details, nuances, light and colours of the original paintings. The backlighting system and special supports allow excellent viewing from all angles. Furthermore, an interactive 3×3 metre cube structure provides information, in three languages, on the life and work of Raphael, in a manner capable of attracting the interest of young people as well.
Three days before the opening, the Institute of Culture held an introductory conference called “Raphael, our Contemporary”, by Raimondo Fassa, Italian language lecturer at La Manouba University.
