The exhibition “Bellini / Mantegna” is on view from March 21, 2018 at the Querini Stampalia Foundation in Venice. It compares, for the first time since their creation, the two versions of the “Presentation at the Temple“: the first one, painted by Andrea Mantegna in 1455, and the second, painted by Giovanni Bellini about fifteen to twenty years later.
The project was carried out within the broader collaboration between the Querini Stampalia Foundation (which houses Bellini’s work), the Berlin Gemäldegalerie (which houses the work of Mantegna), and the London National Gallery.
A major exhibition dedicated to the two Italian Renaissance painters will open at the National Gallery on October 1, 2018, and the exhibition will then move to the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin on March 1, 2019.
Mario Botta explaining the project of the installation at Querini Stampalia Foundation, Venice. Image courtesy of the PhotoPhore
In the Venetian venue, great art is combined with great architecture: to design the layout that contains the two paintings, one of the most important contemporary architects in the world was named: the Swiss Mario Botta.
Botta, who studied architecture in Venice at the end of the 60s, has always maintained a close relationship with the lagoon city, and has carried out the last restoration of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, following then the previous project by Carlo Scarpa.
The exhibition project is made up by a fake massive wall (a typical feature of Botta’s work) which splits at the center, partially folding over itself. The paintings are set in this wall and are separated, physically and conceptually, from the central break, which also allows the works to face each other.
The peculiarity of the dark installation, illuminated only by spotlights that concentrate the light on the paintings, is precisely this split, that is the central vertical axis of the composition.
This break is the only part of the installation clad in a light color: a strong Klein Blue, rendered on the surface with the effect of Venetian plaster.
Installation view. Image courtesy of the PhotoPhore
As the architect said during the presentation of the exhibition, the blue color is one of the few that aren’t in the palette of the two paintings, and the choice was aimed to make the works easily distinguishable, in order to facilitate the comparison for the observer.
Botta’s installation, which contains the Renaissance works, is itself a valuable work of architecture, therefore a work of art, and enriches the absolute value of the exhibition.
Moreover, architect Botta said that he was particularly excited to work in this context of confrontation and relationship with Renaissance art. In his speech, he emphasized the culture of Renaissance art-handcraft workshops, and how their work has always been focused on quality and economy of means, aimed at obtaining extraordinary results.
This teaching is certainly a lesson that Botta embraced throughout his career and which he, once again, adopted in the valuable project for the exhibition, with elegant respect for the works of Bellini and Mantegna.
BELLINI / MANTEGNA
Querini Stampalia Foundation | Venice
March 21 – July 01, 2018
Exhibition curated by Brigit Blass-Simmen, Neville Rowley, Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa.
Text by Domenico Fallacara | the PhotoPhore
Discover: www.querinistampalia.org
