Elisabetta Dal Carlo and Barbara Rossi
A Joint Event with Venice in Peril
This lecture introduces the story and artistic heritage of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a lively cultural institution established in 1869 by the last descendant of the Querini Stampalia family, Count Giovanni Querini, and located in a 16th century Venetian palace whose interior is decorated with precious 18th century stuccoes and frescoes. It now hosts a general library, open, according to the Founder’s will, until late at night and during public holidays, a Museum and an area dedicated to temporary exhibitions. On the ground floor is a space restored by Carlo Scarpa in 1963 and a new service wing designed by Mario Botta.
The speakers will focus on the Library, which is considered the “Library of the Venetians” and on the Museum, acclaimed for being one the best preserved House-Museums in Europe, and on its collections.
The piano nobile of this magnificent Palace recreates the typical atmosphere of an 18th century aristocratic residence. Original Rococo and Neoclassical furniture, Meissen, Vezzi, Sèvres and Cozzi porcelain decorate the Museum. The ambience is enriched with mirrors and chandeliers from Murano, silk cloths, globes, Flemish tapestries, sculptures and paintings from the 14th to the 19th century. Amongst works on display, from the 400 paintings acquired and commissioned by the family over the centuries, there are paintings by the Neo Byzantine School, Giovanni Bellini, Lorenzo di Credi, Jacopo Palma the Elder and Younger, Marco and Sebastiano Ricci, Pietro Longhi and Giambattista Tiepolo. Recent donations have also enhanced the Museum with 19th and 20th century art.
The talk will examine in detail Giovanni Bellini’s masterpiece, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and there will be a brief overview of the cycle of paintings depicting scenes of sumptuous public and private Venetian life by Pietro Longhi and Gabriel Bella.
The Foundation is held in high regard both locally and nationally for its commitment to culture. The support of its Institutional Partners and Main Donors is proof of the high esteem in which it is held while a major contribution towards preserving, improving and managing its artistic and library collections for future generations comes from the “Friends of Querini Stampalia”.
By joining the Foundation, each Friend becomes a member of a leading cultural institution which has been playing a lively role in Venetian cultural life for more than 150 years. It is a way not just of supporting an excellent cultural institution, but also an opportunity to make new discoveries and participate in a rich calendar of events.
Elisabetta Dal Carlo is an art historian, a scholar of baroque and neo-classical decorative arts and a specialist in eighteenth-century ceramics. A conservator at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia she graduated in History of Art at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice obtaining her Ph.D. in History of Art at Siena University. She lectures in Italy and abroad (London and Paris) on the art of porcelain and has edited catalogues on decorative art collections and various publications on Venetian and Veneto art history.
Barbara Rossi graduated in Economics with a Master’s in the Management of Cultural Heritage. At the Fondazione Querini Stampalia she works for the Development Office and is responsible for membership, sponsorship and public funding.
Wine and canapés will be offered after the talk
