Leonardo and Venetian painting at Palazzo Grassi

Palazzo Grassi is holding its first exhibition devoted to a single artist, Leonardo da Vinci, “Leonardo and Venice” (until 5 July). The exhibition has been co-ordinated by the Venetian Soprintendente, Giovanna Nepi Sciré, with a committee including Giulio Bora, David Alan Brofwn, Gianvittorio Dillon, Jane Roberts, Françoise Viatte and others. Inevitably, Leonardo is represented by his drawings, with particular impetus from Giuseppe Bossi’s collection which the Venice Accademia bought from the Abbott Luigi Celotti in 1822. Its highlights were the famous “Vitruvian Man” and studies for the Battle of Anghiari, and almost the entire corpus of studies connected with this lost decoration is assembled for the exhibition. The exhibition promises to present important new angles on this aspect of Leonardo studies. In conversation with The Art Newspaper Signora Nepi Sciré commented, “The first section on the drawings will constitute the exhibition’s most important part, and provide the links for the other exhibits, among which there will be five paintings by Giorgione. This is the first occasion when one of Palazzo Grassi’s exhibitions has been so closely linked with a Venetian public institution. This important breakthrough gives us hope for the future”. Leonardo’s only documented visit to Venice was in April of 1503, and his influence on the Veneto is not easy to document precisely. This exhibition examines his impact not only on the visual arts but also on literature and science. In this context, scientific examination of his drawings in the exhibition has revealed pentimenti, to date less considered in drawings than painting studies. The first section is devoted to the work of the painter himself, offering more than sixty drawings exhibited thematically (relation to specific paintings, the human figure, human profile, caricature, and armaments) and showing their influence on Giorgione, whose attributed “Christ carrying the cross” from the Scuola di San Rocco is shown along with the Accademia’s “La Vecchia”. A room is devoted to “The Last Supper”, and two to Leonardo followers active in Venice, Andrea Solario, Agostino da Lodi and Francesco Napoletano. Leonardo’s equestrian bronze from Budapest will figure in the section entitled “Between Venice and Milan: the role of Sculpture”, and a final section is mainly devoted to Cesare da Sesto. There will be a colloquium on Leonardo’s drawings at the close of the exhibition.