Kandinskij, Goncarova, Chagall. Sanctity and Beauty in Russian Art.
The exhibition explores the interconnections between icons and the Avant-garde art movement, that just over a century ago helped to make Russia’s contribution to international contemporary art truly unique.
Twenty years of the Intesa Sanpaolo museum complex in Vicenza, commemorated with an exhibition revolving around the Bank’s icon collection
19 icons from the Intesa Sanpaolo collection are on display, as well as 45 pieces, many of which have never before seen the light of day in Italy. These works were completed between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and come from the major Russian art museum in Moscow, the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as other museums in Russia, France and Greece.
With this juxtaposition, the theme of sanctity in Russian art in the latter part of the nineteenth century is brought to the forefront. This is most evident in the eminent figures of the art world, who expressed a deep connection with the philosophical-theological vision of icons and the spiritual and aesthetic experimentation conducted by leading figures in the Avant-garde movement.
Organised by Silvia Burini, Giuseppe Barbieri and Alessia Cavallaro as part of a collaboration with the Centre of Studies of Russian Art of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the exhibition forms part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Progetto Cultura project.
"With twenty years having passed since the opening of the Gallerie d’Italia complex in Vicenza," said Giovanni Bazoli, President Emeritus of Intesa Sanpaolo, "and seeking to promote a more widespread understanding of the Bank’s Russian icon collection, we hereby present an exhibition that, thanks to the exceptional loans from major museums across the globe, shows how modern Russian art drew lifeforce from the spirituality found in age-old iconography”.
October 2019
