The exhibition “Capodimonte from Reggia to Museum” opens on Friday 7 June at the Reggia di Venaria. Five centuries of masterpieces from Masaccio to Andy Warhol”. The exhibition will be open until 15 September and enriches its exhibition itinerary with The Flagellation of Christ by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, which completes the exhibition with a special installation dedicated to the extraordinary masterpiece of the great Lombard painter.
The painting, a manifesto of Caravaggio’s last manner, was created in 1607 during the Master’s first Neapolitan stay for the church of San Domenico Maggiore, where it was exhibited until 1972 when, for safety reasons, it was transferred to the Museum of Capodimonte which still holds custody of it today.
In this iconic canvas the light builds the volumes that emerge from the darkness. The beauty and light complexion of Christ contrast with the brutality and dark bodies of the executioners, who are preparing to subject him to flagellation. The grotesque expressiveness of the character standing on the left is typical of Caravaggio’s late manner.
The large exhibition, set up in the Halls of the Arts of the Palace, displays over sixty masterpieces from the artistic collections of Capodimonte, which include the greatest masters in the history of art: from Masaccio to Parmigianino, from Caravaggio to Titian, to name a few.
An unmissable exhibition itinerary to discover an extraordinary collection, but also a fascinating history: that of a palace that became a great museum which, over the centuries, has preserved some of the most refined art collections in all of Europe.
