Yesterday I went to an exhibition exploring 18th-century Venice featuring fashion, pageantry, ceremonies, and street life. An exquisite gondola finial, 18th-century costumes and Carnival masks, a puppet theater, and viewed paintings depicting the fabled "Queen of the Adriatic" are among the works on display.
NOMA has organizing A Life of Seduction: Venice in the 1700's in cooperation with Contemporanea Progetti in Florence, Italy. This exhibition celebrates the theater and spectacle of Venice—in public and private life—in paintings, costumes, furnishings, glass, and ceremonial regalia.
Renowned for its beauty and singularity, Venice played a central role in the history of Western art. In the 18th century, the city experienced a revival in the arts and was the premier destination for intellectuals and travelers. The city and its inhabitants cultivated and eulogized a tradition of street life, festivals, and fashion.
Guest curated by the former director of the Museums of Venice, Giandomenico Romanelli, A Life of Seduction examines this culture of display and sensuality through four primary themes: A City that Lives on Water, the Celebration of Power, Aristocratic Life in Town and Country, and the City as Theater.
The works in the exhibition are drawn primarily from Venetian and other Italian collections, with important additions from American institutions. Five extraordinary paintings, never before seen in the United States, introduce the themes of the exhibition. Recently attributed to Joseph Heintz the Younger (1600-1678), these detailed works illuminate the richness of Venetian culture and society, providing insight into the public life of Venetians, and intimate views of political and aristocratic life.
Follower of Joseph Heintz the Younger, Fantastic Vision of the Triumph of Venice (detail), 18th-century, Oil on canvas, Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
18th century
Joseph Heintz the Younger
Oil on canvas
150 x 140 cm.
Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
Follower of Joseph Heintz the Younger, Fantastic Vision of the Triumph of Venice (detail), 18th-century, Oil on canvas, Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
18th century
Joseph Heintz the Younger
Oil on canvas
150 x 140 cm.
Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
Follower of Joseph Heintz the Younger, Fantastic Vision of the Triumph of Venice (detail), 18th-century, Oil on canvas, Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
18th century
Joseph Heintz the Younger
Oil on canvas
150 x 140 cm.
Rovigo: Palazzo Roncale, Fondazione Cariparo
Finial from Gondola
18th century
Venetian Manufacture
Iron
131 cm.
Venice: Museo Correr
Clogs
Late 16th century
Wood and leather and bone
15.5 x 24.6 cm.
Venice: Museo Correr
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