Belle Époque. The Italian painters of modern life. From Lega and Fattori to Boldini and De Nittis to Nomellini and Balla” from June 29th at the Giorgio Conti Foundation
There will be four works from the Bistolfi Civic Museum and Plaster Cast Gallery in Casale Monferrato that will be exhibited at Palazzo Cucchiari in Carrara, home of the Giorgio Conti Foundation, on the occasion of the “Belle Époque. The Italian painters of modern life.
From Lega e Fattori to Boldini and De Nittis to Nomellini and Balla”, open to the public from 29 June to 27 October 2024. The loan, a new opportunity for valorisation and promotion of the Casale museum heritage, includes three works by Leonardo Bistolfi and one by Paolo Troubetzkoy, which was part of the private collection of the Casalese master.
The three works by Leonardo Bistolfi are part of the corpus of the “Donazione Martelli Bistolfi 2021-2023” and are exhibited for the first time outside Casale Monferrato: “Lady with the parasol” and “Il Profumo”, which have been restored for the occasion thanks to the Conti Foundation and the “Portrait of a Woman”, already restored in 2023 thanks to the contribution of the Soroptimist International of Casale Monferrato.
“Portrait of a Lady with a Plumed Hat” by Paolo Troubetzokoy became part of the heritage of the Civic Museum of Casale Monferrato, where it is kept and exhibited in the Nineteenth Century Room, at the beginning of the 2000s, thanks to the donation of Andrea Bistolfi.
The Carrara exhibition, curated by Massimo Bertozzi, is divided into seven sections that explore the evolution of Italian art after the Unification of Italy. The exhibition itinerary illustrates how Italian painting has transformed, going beyond regional schools to form a national identity suited to the modern times of the “New Italy”. In this context, the business world, high finance and the aristocracy emerged as new promoters of the fine arts, partly replacing academies and public institutions.
The exhibition itinerary highlights the transition from the last moments of the Macchiaiolo movement to the effervescence of Scapigliatura and the final results of divisionism, presenting works by artists such as Fattori, Lega, Boldini, De Nittis, Nomellini and Balla. Also included are works by other significant artists such as Signorini, Spadini, Pellizza da Volpedo, Zandomeneghi, Corcos, Mancini, Cremona, Bianchi, Longoni, Morbelli and Previati. In total, around ninety works are on display, including paintings on canvas and on wood, watercolours, pastels and sculptures in bronze and plaster, analyzing a period from 1864 to 1917.
Casale Monferrato, 27 June 2024
