The new Baroque exhibit at Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome opens in May until October 2021
Running until October 3rd, The Barberini Corsini National Galleries of Ancient Art presents the Tempo Barocco exhibition curated by Roman art historian and director of Borghese Gallery Francesca Cappelletti along with the very own director of the Barberini Galleries, Flaminia Gennari Santori. The exhibition is being held in the newest exhibition space of Palazzo Barberini where 8 rooms on the ground floor, a total of 750 square meters, have been completely restored and refurbished. Cappelletti proposed the idea to Gennari Santori back in 2017 to collaborate on the exhibition together, while inaugurating the new space for all current and future temporary exhibits.
“To understand Rome, one must understand the Baroque Era.”
Rome is the birthplace of Baroque style, thought, and art, starting in the early 17th century. No aspects of life were off-limits during this artistic movement, from dramas to paintings, to architecture and literature, to dance and music. Common themes identified were extracted from contemporary arguments around emotion and expression. It is often said that to understand art in Rome, one must understand the Baroque Era. Art induces a sensory experience, exaggeration motion, gestures, and actions. Baroque art hyperbolizes all that, and it was exploited by the Roman Catholic Church as a way to maintain their church’s superiority and to win the people’s support, through evoking emotions, during the rise of the Protestant movement.
Baroque painters used wide brushes with creamy strokes and paints heavily rich in color while sculptures were created using luxurious resources including marble, gold, and bronze. Two important techniques were used amongst artists to make the art more realistic, dramatic, and effective. “Tenebrism” and “chiaroscuro” both incorporate extreme contrasts between light and dark, whether it be through paint color, lighting, or physical design.
Time is the real protagonist of the exhibition
Today, the Tempo Barocco exhibit presents 40 works, including paintings, sculptures, and clocks, by some of the most renowned and strongest advocates of Baroque culture, exploring the concept of Baroque throughout the 17th century. The wide-ranged list includes Pietro da Cortona, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Valentin de Boulogne, Nicolas Poussin, Anton Van Dyck, Domenichino, Andrea Sacchi, and Guido Reni to name a few.
The exhibition project is broken out into five sections. At the heart of it is the theme and concept of time, which flows effortlessly throughout all sections. The antagonists of truth, beauty, love, and death are present and explored in depth. The first three sections, “The Myth of Time”, “Time and Love”, and “Time Measured and Time as Allegory”, portrait time as a mystic creature. The fourth, “Time is Vanity”, is dedicated to life being the protagonist of the story despite time being vain. Finally, “Freezing Time, Capturing the Action” is devoted to themes of wonder, drama, and exaggeration.
INSPIRATION
The Barberini Corsini National Galleries Of Ancient Art
Santori and Cappelletti have been honored to feature works in the exhibit from some of the most important museums throughout the entire world. These include The Uffizi Galleries of Florence, The Museum of Capodimonte of Naples, The Prado Museum of Madrid, The Jacquemart-André Museum of Paris, The National Gallery in London, The Rijksmuseum Museum of Amsterdam, The Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, and finally, the Staatliche Museum of Berlin. The scope and prestige in which the two art historians had the opportunity of exploring and picking from, and therefore being able to share with the public to create such an astonishing portfolio of Baroque art from the era will leave you in awe.
The Tempo Barocco exhibit is open to the public until October 3, 2021.
TILL 3 OCTOBER 2021
Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica
Palazzo Barberini; Via Delle Quattro Fontane 13
barberinicorsini.org
Tickets
Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
Exhibit Tickets: €7 standard; €2 reduced price for 18–25 years old
Exhibit + Museum Tickets: €12 standard; €4 reduced price for 18–25 years old
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO PALAZZO BARBERINI AND GALLERIA CORSINI
