"The Colors of the Serenissima" is the first exclusive show from the holdings of the former imperial collections in Salzburg. The guest appearance of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is also the first exhibition under the direction of the new director of the DomQuartier, Andrea Stockhammer.
The comprehensive show, which paints a portrait of the city of Venice and its society, focuses on the key developments in Venetian art from the Renaissance to the Rococo period. In addition to selected works of painting, examples of other art genres such as bronzes and armor as well as virtuoso objects from the legendary Kunstkammer of the former imperial family, which is the most important of its kind in the world, are also on display.
Andrea Stockhammer, Director of the DomQuartier Salzburg © DomQuartier Salzburg
"I am delighted about the collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna and the exhibition. It corresponds to the profile of the Residenzgalerie with its outstanding holdings of European painting. On a total area of 750 square meters, a multi-dimensional insight into the successful concept and the characteristic features of Venetian art production is created," says Andrea Stockhammer, Director of the DomQuartier Salzburg.
For the Director General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Sabine Haag, a long-cherished wish has come true: "Salzburg played a central role in the exchange between Italian and German culture. Venetian art from the 16th to 18th centuries is a major focus of the Kunsthistorisches Museum's rich collection. I am therefore all the more delighted that we will be hosting masterpieces from this period at the Residenzgalerie Salzburg in 2024."
For Governor Wilfried Haslauer, "the first-time, magnificent guest appearance of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna sends a powerful signal for Salzburg's attractiveness as a museum location in the run-up to the opening of the Belvedere branch."
Venetian art from the Renaissance to the Rococo and its special features
THE COLORS OF SERENISSIMA plays with a certain ambiguity. On the one hand, the exhibition title refers to the special use of color in painting and, on the other, to the colors of Venice as it presents itself to the visitor in its moods of light and in the opulence of its luxury goods. The comprehensive exhibition focuses on various aspects of the lagoon city: portraits of elegant Venetians reflect the self-image of a successful trading power, while atmospheric landscape painting invites contemplation. New types of images in religious painting bring the saints and biblical figures very close to the viewer and appeal to them in a highly emotional way.
Lasting success until the 18th century
The success of the Venetian Renaissance is one of the most enduring in European art. A wealthy class had emerged in Venice, which flaunted its wealth and social status with works of art. With these favorable conditions, the Serenissima - as Venice was also known - attracted numerous artists from the surrounding area. The painting style of Titian and his fellow artists soon also shaped the idea of Venetian painting outside of Venice. Until the 18th century, artists were inspired by the colorito alla veneziana and art collectors were eager to own paintings from 16th century Venice in order to be en vogue.
Venice's wealth and rise to become a trading metropolis in the Mediterranean
Venice was one of the most important trading cities until the 16th century. Palaces and art treasures still bear witness to the former wealth of the lagoon city. Since the Middle Ages, the city ruled by a doge had expanded into the eastern Mediterranean. Numerous luxury goods arrived at its port. Silk, carpets and special color pigments were among the precious imported goods that were sold back to the north alongside fine textiles, glass vessels and printed books. With the expansion of the Ottomans, however, Venice increasingly lost its territories in the Mediterranean. The conquest of America by other European powers and the loss of Crete in 1669 caused the power of the aristocratic republic to fade. At the same time, Venice was able to defend its territories in the wars of the 16th century and the Venetian upper class turned more towards the mainland, the Terra Ferma.
June 21, 2024 to January 6, 2025
www.domquartier.at
