Ca' Pesaro is a
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
marble palace turned art museum, facing the
Grand Canal of
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy.
Today it is one of the 11 museums run by the
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia system.
The building was originally designed by
Baldassarre Longhena in the mid-17th century, the construction was completed by Gian Antonio Gaspari in 1710. As at Longhena's
Ca' Rezzonico, a double order of
colossal columns and colonnettes flanking arch-headed windows, reinterpreting a motif of
Jacopo Sansovino, Longhena creates the impression of double
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
s extending across the main
Grand Canal frontage, above a boldly
rusticated basement.
The building
The palace was built in the second half of the 17th century for the noble and wealthy
Pesaro family
Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
, a project by the Venetian architect,
Baldassarre Longhena, who also designed the church of the Salute and
Ca' Rezzonico.
Works began in 1659 starting from the landside; the courtyard was completed by 1676. By 1679, the façade on the Grand Canal had already reached the second floor, but when Longhena died 3 years after, the palace was still unfinished. The Pesaro family then entrusted its completion to
Gian Antonio Gaspari who concluded it in 1710, according to the original project. Longhena was inspired by
Sansovinian classicism when designing Ca’ Pesaro, creating expressions of a new and sumptuous harmony, with its complex and powerful composition, yet well-balanced. The Sansovinian motif is more explicit on the first floor, with the
chiaroscuro
In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...
rhythm of the arches and columns.
On the second floor, the façade is enriched by ornamentation in the pendentives and the entablatures. The entrance-hall, laid out along the axis of the entire building, contrasts with the clarity of the courtyard, articulated around the monumental well and enclosed by a terrace and an ashlar-arcade.
The palace still conserves some of the
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
and oil decorations of the ceilings by artists such as
Bambini,
Pittoni, Crosato,
Trevisani and
Girolamo Brusaferro. The collections of the Pesaro family, as documented in the archives, must have been even more remarkable, including works by artists such as
Vivarini
Vivarini is the surname of a family of painters from Murano (Venice), who produced a great quantity of work in Venice and its neighborhood in the 15th century, leading on to that phase of the school which is represented by Carpaccio and the Bell ...
,
Carpaccio,
Bellini,
Giorgione
Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco (; 1470s – 17 September 1510), known as Giorgione, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, ...
,
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
,
Tintoretto
Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...
, as well as other famous Venetian artists of the 17th and 18th centuries. This great heritage was completely dispersed by 1830, the year of the death of the last Pesaro family member, who auctioned most of the collection in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The palace was passed on firstly to the Gradenigo family and then to the Armenian
Mekhitarist Fathers in 1936, who used it as a college until 1850, before relocating to
Ca' Zenobio. It was finally bought by the Bevilacqua family, and became the property of Duchess Felicita
Bevilacqua La Masa. It was she who decreed the present usage of the building, bequeathing it to the city in 1898, as a museum of Modern Art.
In 1902, thanks to the bequest of the Duchess, the city council decided to use the palace to host the
Modern Art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
municipal collection, which had been started in 1897, when the second
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
was held. Shortly afterwards, between 1908 and 1924, it also was used to host the Bevilacqua La Masa exhibitions, which, in lively contrast with the Venice Biennale, favored a generation of young artists, including
Boccioni,
Casorati,
Gino Rossi,
Juti Ravenna and
Arturo Martini. The collection was enriched over the years by further acquisitions and donations.
Venezia - Ca' Pesaro - Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna 01.jpg, Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna
(Venice) Ca' Pesaro - Portego - view from the entrance on the grand canal towards the inner courtyard.jpg, Portego - view from the entrance on the grand canal towards the inner courtyard
Modern art museum
Ca' Pesaro houses 19th and 20th century collections of paintings and sculptures, as well as a section on graphic art.
* Room 1: Works by Venetian painters of the second half of the 19th century, such as
Ippolito Caffi,
Guglielmo Ciardi,
Giacomo Favretto, and
Pietro Fragiacomo are on display, testifying to the city's art variety in the 19th and the early 20th century.
* Room 2: This room brings together 19th century Italian works: there are paintings by
Signorini,
Giovanni Fattori,
De Nittis,
Guiseppe Pellizza,
Gaetano Previati, and
Angelo Morbelli. The city of Venice was stirred by the presence of these artists at the city's Biennale to acquire their works, which testify to the vitality of Italian painting at the turn of the century. The collection of sculptures by
Medardo Rosso is also of special importance.
* Central Hall: The central hall displays works from the very first
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
up to the 1950s. The room begins with a homage to one of the founders of the Biennale,
Riccardo Selvatico, portrayed by
Alessandro Milesi, and continues with works by artists from England, Belgium, Scandinavia, Germany, France and Russia. Alongside masterpieces (such as
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...
’s ''Judith II'' and ''Aunt Luisa'' by
Zuloaga), a number of other paintings that met with outstanding success during the early editions of the Biennale by
Filipp Malyavin,
Charles Cottet, and
Joaquin Sorolla are exhibited. These works give an idea of the Biennale’s role in promoting “salon-art”, followed by others of experimental kind such as
Kandinsky’s ''White Zig Zags''. Finally, works from the museum’s graphic art collection and sculptures are also on display, together with some renowned paintings by
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist gr ...
and
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
.
* Room 3: This room is devoted to
Adolfo Wildt's sculptures, donated to Ca' Pesaro by the Wildt-Scheiwiller heirs in 1990. The Milanese artist was a protagonist of the
Symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
*Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea
Arts
*Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea
** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
, but also of a period of experimentalism and innovation that influenced later generations.
* Room 4: The De Lisi bequest, exhibited in this room, was donated to the museum in 1961, and include major artworks by Italian and foreign artists. There are paintings by
Felice Casorati (a central figure of the intellectual avant-garde in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
during the early 1920s),
Mario Sironi, and
Alberto Martini. Other artists present in this room include
Carrà,
Filippo De Pisis,
Giorgio Morandi
Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker widely known for his subtly muted still-life paintings of ceramic vessels, flowers, and landscapes—their quiet, meditative quality reflecting the artist's ...
,
Massimo Campigli,
Ottone Rosai, and
Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...
.
Tanguy,
Brauner,
Matta Echaurren,
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
and
Kandinsky, who testify the collector’s preference for
surrealist
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
themes, even in artists not generally identified with the movement.
* Rooms 5 and 6: These rooms are devoted to the ''Ca’ Pesaro Years'', a term applied to the first season of the
Bevilacqua La Masa exhibitions organized by Nino Barbantini (from 1908 to 1924). The works exhibited here brought some of the most important Italian artists to public notice and provide a clear idea of this period. Works by
Ugo Valeri,
Alberto Martini,
Boccioni,
Gino Rossi,
Umberto Moggioli, and
Felice Casorati on display, alongside the Burano School, which is represented by
Pio Semeghini. The rooms also displays later works by
Guido Cadorin,
Guido Marussig, and
Gennaro Favai.
* Room 7: This room offers an overview of the Italian art trends in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, with works by
Antonio Donghi,
Luigi Tito,
Lorenzo Viani,
Giuseppe Cesetti, and
Guido Cadorin. A tapestry work by
Fortunato Depero is displayed together with works by
Enrico Prampolini and
Toti Scialoja. In the center of the room is a work by
Umberto Mastroianni. Other artists present in this room include
Leone Minassian and
Franco Gentilini.
* Room 8: This room offers an overview of some Italian art trends during the post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
period.
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...
is well represented by works by
Filippo De Pisis,
Fausto Pirandello,
Bruno Cassinari
Bruno Cassinari (29 October 1912 – 26 March 1992) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked in a style that mixed cubism, cubist and expressionism, expressionist elements.
Biography
Cassinari was born in Piacenza, a city in Italy’s Emi ...
, and
Pericle Fazzini. By contrast, the informal experiences of
Renato Birolli,
Ennio Morlotti,
Zoran Music,
Afro Basadella, and
Achille Perilli are flanked by abstract works by
Bice Lazzari. Works range from
Emilio Vedova’s ''Europe'' to
Renato Birlolli’s ''Wall of a Fisherman’s House''. Visitors can also see on display works by artists such as
Mirko Basaldella and
Leoncillo.
* Room 9: After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Venetian art entered a new, lively phase, with the ''
Fronte Nuovo delle Arti'' and the
Spatialism
Spatialism () is an art movement founded by Argentine-Italian artist Lucio Fontana in Milan in 1947 in which he proposed to synthesize colour, sound, space, movement, and time into a new type of art.
Overview
The main ideas of the movement were ...
. The protagonists of these movements are all present in this room, including
Armando Pizzinato,
Giuseppe Santomaso
Giuseppe "Bepi" Santomaso (26 September 1907 – 23 May 1990) was an Italian painter and educator. Santomaso was an important figure in 20th-century Italian painting, and he taught art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia for 20 years.
Ear ...
,
Emilio Vedova,
Tancredi
''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' (''opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède (traged ...
,
Edmondo Bacci,
Guidi,
Bruno Saetti,
Mario Deluigi,
Alberto Gianquinto, and
Vittorio Basaglia.
* Room 10: A small
Contemporary Art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
gallery inside the museum, this room is dedicated to temporary exhibitions on unpublished works, young artists’ experiments, and video art.
Asian art museum
The upper floor is dedicated to the
Oriental Art Museum (), housing some 30,000 objects, mainly from
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
Japan (
armour
Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
,
inros,
netsukes, and art by
Koryusai,
Harunobu,
Hokusai
, known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...
),
but additionally artwork from China and Indonesia. This collection of oriental objects was brought back from a stay in Asia by
Prince Henry of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, at the end of the 19th century, and bequeathed to the Italian state.
Gallery
Francesco Guardi Ca Pesaro 1755-60.jpg, Francesco Guardi Ca Pesaro 1755-60
Salle du musée dart oriental (Venise) (6175353471).jpg, Oriental art
See also
*
List of buildings and structures in Venice
References
External links
*
Oriental Art Museum*
{{Coord, 45.440381, 12.331145, type:landmark, display=title
Art museums and galleries in Venice
Art museums and galleries established in 1902
Baroque architecture in Venice
Baldassare Longhena buildings
Houses completed in 1710
Modern art museums in Italy
Museums in Venice
Pesaro
Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
Pesaro
Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
1902 establishments in Italy
Pesaro family