The great masters of the 20th century were on display at Palazzo Zaguri in Venice
Elegant, breathtaking, inimitable, Venice is the gem of northeastern Italy, where architecture, canals and bridges show their cultural and artistic vitality. However, the most romantic city in the world is not only made of landmarks and tourist places.
Indeed, I had the chance to visit From Kandinsky to Botero, a unique art exhibition at Zaguri Palace. The exhibition complex hosted until September 1st a brand-new art concept through which the visitor was guided by a free audioguide with the voice of the Italian well-known and controvertial art critic Vittorio Sgarbi. I will summarize it all, for those who didn’t have the chance to see it.
Kandinsky’s masterpiece, Yellow-Red-Blue — painted in 1925, is the centerpiece of the exhibition in which many painting-like tapestries created by Italian artists — most of them coming from Ugo Scassa’s workshop — are exposed. Founded in 1960, it was one of the last surviving tapestry ateliers in Italy and, thanks to this exhibition, his dream to showcase his artwork in Venice has come true.
Four are the floors of this historic building hosting the exhibition, which included the works of a wide range of famous artists such as Kandinsky, Botero, De Chirico, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol and many other great names of contemporary art. In total, hundreds of tapestries belonging to a collection worth about fifty million euros have been on display.
“Their exquisite warps and tasteful color palettes are still capable of mesmerizing and captivating the beholder, thread by thread, braid by braid”, visitors admitted.
Zaguri Palace contributed to make the visit even more memorable, creating the atmosphere and the contrasts between the modern artworks and the architecture of a space that was built by the Pasqualini family, renowned for being silk merchants, between the 14th and the 15th century.
Indeed, Venice, besides being one of the most important cities for trade with the East, also produced itself magnificent textiles: the first known was the so-called sciamito, a medieval fabric of particular structure suitable for lavish embroidery, employed for the production of dresses and décor.
The visit was not only paintings and artists, but also culture, architecture and history. Precisely when everyone else is focused on the famous Biennale, Venezia showed once again that it’s always capable to impress me in its every, more hidden aspect.
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