An exhibit opening in October in
Mantua will pay homage to architect and painter Giulio Romano
(Rome, 1492 or 1499- Mantua, 1546), highlighting his talent as
architect and his heritage as a Mannerist painter.
The show on Romano, a pseudonym for Giulio Pippi de'
Jannuzzi, Raphael's most important pupil, is called "Con nuova e
stravagante maniera" (With a new and extravagant manner) and
runs from October 6 until January 6, 2020 at Mantua's Complesso
Museale Palazzo Ducale.
The exhibit's aim of great ambition and scientific rigor is
to give visitors an insight into the work of this all-purpose
artist, who could not only build and paint but also make jewelry
and decorate tapestry and was given a free hand in Mantua in the
second quarter of the 16th century.
Indeed the common denominator of Romano's art was drawing and
the show puts on display an exceptional 72 drawings on loan for
the first time thanks to the local museum's collaboration with
the Louvre and the Département des Arts Graphiques of the
museum.
The idea of the scientific committee behind the show (Peter
Assmann, Laura Angelucci, Paolo Bertelli, Renato Berzaghi, Paolo
Carpeggiani, Sylvia Ferino, Augusto Morari, Roberta Serra and
Luisa Onesta Tamassia) was to showcase the artist's entire
career, from his start in Rome to its evolution in Mantua, where
he moved in 1524.
There, he worked at the court of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of
Mantua, where he happily expressed his "extravagant manner", as
Giorgio Vasari wrote in 'The Lives of the Most Excellent
Painters, Sculptors and Architects'.
In Mantua, Romano created undisputed masterpieces including
Palazzo Te (1525-1535) and the duke's apartments at the ducal
palace Palazzo Ducale (1536).
The artist became the director of all architectural and
decorative projects, following the example of his master Raphael
and created his own 'bottega' (workshop).
The show is organized in three sections to display the
Louvre's drawings along with another selection of drawings from
museums in Italy and abroad including the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London and the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle).
Paintings, prints and majolicas will also be on display.
Peter Assmann, the director of Mantua's museum complex
Complesso Museale Palazzo Ducale di Mantova said during the
presentation of the project in Rome that the show is "an
important opportunity for the city".
The exhibit vies to have more of an impact on the city than a
traditional show "uniting all local productive forces around
Palazzo Ducale and boosting Mantua's image as an art city in
Europe and in the world".
Xavier Salmon, director of the Département des Arts
graphiques of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, said one of the
show's objectives was to recreate through the preparatory
drawings for the decorations at Palazzo Ducale "the connection
between the artworks and the locations".
Several events have been organized to coincide with the show.
They include a show at Palazzo Te, "Giulio Romano. Arte e
Desiderio nel Rinascimento" (art and desire in Renaissance), and
a capsule collection by local menswear brand Lubiam.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA