Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia — Ca’ Rezzonico Museum of the 18th Century

ENG The Palace Among precious historical furnishings, it houses important works of the 18th century Venice, including masterpieces by Tiepolo, Rosalba Carriera, Pietro Longhi, e Guardi....

History

The palace which houses the century the palace changed owners Museum of 18th-century Venice was several times and was gradually built at the behest of the Bon family, stripped of all its furnishings. one of the old noble families of the Later tenants included the poet town. Halfway through the 17th Robert Browning – who spent the century Filippo Bon commissioned summers of 1887 and 1888 in the the building from the most famous palace, and died here in 1889 – and architect of his time, Baldassare the composer and songwriter Cole Longhena, who also built Ca’ Porter, who rented the premises Pesaro and the basilica of La Salute. from 1926 to 1927. It had been The monumental project proved reduced to a mere empty receptacle however to be too ambitious for the when it was purchased by the city Baldassarre Longhena, Bon finances. The palace had not of Venice in 1935 to house the 18th- Ca’Rezzonico, Facade yet in fact been completed when century art collections. In just a the architect died in 1682 and soon short time, furnishings were added afterwards, in view of the family’s to the paintings: everyday objects, inability to bear the considerable also stripped frescoes or ceiling expense of the project, the works canvases from other city palaces. were brought to a halt and the The result is an extraordinary building remained incomplete. environmental museum in whose In 1750 Giambattista Rezzonico, rooms we can see works of one whose family had recently received of the most fortunate periods of a noble title by paying a large sum European art, together with the of money, bought the building and lavishness and splendor of an commissioned Giorgio Massari, the 18th-century Venetian mansion. fashionable architect of the time, The main entrance to the building to complete the works. The palazzo was originally the one on the Grand took the name of the Rezzonico Canal, through the monumental family. The works were completed water entrance where all guests in just 6 years, in time to celebrate entered. The architect Baldassare the family’s lightning rise in society, Longhena radically revised the which peaked in 1758 when Carlo, usual concept of the façade of Giambattista’s son, was elected the Venetian palace; this was pope under the name of Clement traditionally divided into three XIII. Their success was however parts, with a row of windows in the fairly short-lived and had already central part and two wings at the come to an end with the next sides. Longhena instead chose to generation. Lacking male heirs, use a single architectural module the family died out in 1810 with the for the whole surface, in this case Ca’Rezzonico, Central hall death of Abbondio. During the 19th derived from the New Office of the

> 1 Procurators in St. Mark’s Square This dilates the space and attracts (which he himself had completed) the viewer’s eye to the family and reinterpreted in a style. coat-of-arms, which is positioned The accentuated projection of the in full light above the fountain various elements created a striking at the end of this rhythmic interplay of light and shade. The chiaroscuro cadence. The effect ground plan of the building was also was accentuated by the fact that innovative. The continuous closed the coat-of-arms was originally the portico which traditionally crossed only coloured element within the old Venetian palaces longitudinally, perspective telescope which was from the water entrance to the land created by the succession of closed entrance, was here broken up by and open spaces. The ground floor Ca’Rezzonico, Garden an inner courtyard. This was typical portico today houses a 19th century of the scheme for land palaces and gondola fitted with the traditional was not used in Venice. The solution “felze” a removable cabin shielding is simple but effective. Instead of passenger from onlookers and an extremely dark area which has guaranteeing their comfort and no architectural or scenographic privacy. impact, a succession of light and dark areas was created.

> 2 Museums maps

FLOOR 20. The “Ai Do San Marchi” Pharmacy

3 21. The Egidio Martini Picture Gallery 21 20

FLOOR 12. Picture - Gallery 16. Longhi Room Portego 16 17 18 19 17. Green Lacquer 13. Giandomenico Room 12 2 Tiepolo in Zianigo 13

18. Guardi Room 15 14 14. Harpsichord room 19. Alcove

15. Room of the Parlatory

FLOOR 2. Ballroom 7. Tiepolo Room 6 5 4 3 3. Nuptial Allegory 8. Library Room 11 2 1 9. Lazzarini Room 4. Pastel Room 7 8 9 10 10. Brustolon Room 5. Tapestry Room 11. Portego 6. Throne Room

22. Ferruccio Mestrovich Collection FLOOR 22

On the Browning landing you can see the 0/1 Mestrovich Donation, which consists of thirty or so works from the 15th century to the 20th century. Mezzanino Browning

FLOOR On the ground-floor are the various facilities for visitors: ticket-office, cloakroom, toilets, museum shop, 0 cafeteria, lift; the garden holds occasional theatrical performances. The tour starts from the ceremonial staircase, on the opposite side from the Grand Canal.

RETE: GuestFMCV PASSWORD: visitmuve > 3 Layout and collections The visit to the museum collection begins at Giorgio Massari’s large ceremonial staircase on the side of the palace opposite to the Grand Canal.

On the first floor, eleven rooms exhibit paintings, sculptures, frescoed ceilings, and collections of 18th century furnishings.

The second floor opens with a long central hall typical of Venetian palaces in which there are two early works by Canaletto; the rooms dedicated to the work of Pietro Longhi and the Giandomenico Tieopolo frescoes originally on the walls of Villa Zianigo are not to be missed.

The third floor contains not only the three rooms of the “Ai Do San Marchi” Pharmacy, but also the noteworthy collection of paintings bequeathed by Egidio Martini.

The staircase alongside the café leads to the Browning Mezzanine, which houses the Mestrovich Collection, including works by artists such as Jacopo Tintoretto and Bonifacio de’ Pitati.

> 4 FLOOR 6 5 4 3

1 11 2

2. Ballroom Canal Grande 3. Nuptial Allegory Room 7 8 9 10 4. Pastel Room 5. Tapestry Room 6. Throne Room 7. Tiepolo Room 8. Library 9. Lazzarini Room 10. Brustolon Room 11. Portego

2. Ballroom motifs were part of the original The grand ballroom of Palazzo furnishings of the palace. Along the Rezzonico is markedly original with walls there are some of the works respect to other Venetian buildings. that the sculptor Andrea Brustolon Massari created it by eliminating produced for the Venier family in the floor of the upper piano nobile the early years of the 18th century. and closing an order of windows, Among these works you find the thus doubling the height of the so-called Ethiopian Warriors, room; it gives the palace a truly imposing nudes armed with heavy “regal” effect, and expresses the clubs and shown with vividly spirit of the mid-18th century. The staring eyes in white glass paste; at room itself gives the illusion of the feet of each there is a horse’s being the centre of a much larger head. Perhaps the series – most space that can be glimpsed beyond of the statues are in the room 10, the trompe l’oeil architecture which is named after the sculptor painted on the walls. These – was inspired by the Egyptian illusionistic effects were created by statues in porphyry and basalt that Pietro Visconti, a Lombard artist Brustolon saw during his time in who specialized in such works . and collaborated with the most — famous Venetian “figure” painters 3. Nuptial Allegory Room of the day; the ceiling fresco is In the winter of 1757, the wedding by Giovanni Battista Crosato and between Ludovico Rezzonico represents the chariot of Phoebus and Faustina Savorgnan took with Europe, Asia, America and place. For the occasion, the row Africa on the four sides. All of these of rooms along the san Barnaba decorations – fully restored in canal, intended as the spouses’ 2000-2001 – refer to allegorical reception apartment, was frescoed. and celebratory themes linked In this circumstance, Giambattista with Apollonian myths: a kind of Tiepolo was also present. Helped figurative poem in honour of the once more by Girolamo Mengozzi, Rezzonico family, whose coat-of- he painted the Nuptial allegory on arms appears in the gilded drapes the ceiling of this room in just 12 at the centre of the main wall. days. Pairs of satyrs painted by The two grandiose chandeliers in Tiepolo’s son Giandomenico are Ca’ Rezzonico, Ballroom gilded wood and metal with floral leaning against a fake ochre and

> 5 green marble parapet, and beyond 4.Pastel Room this is an architectural structure, Besides Giambattista Tiepolo, ending a balustrade which opens other important Venetian onto the sky. The two spouses are fresco painters participated in presented to the viewer riding on the decoration of the wedding Apollo’s chariot; they are preceded apartment. This room was by the blindfolded Cupid, while decorated by Gaspare Diziani, one some allegorical figures surround of the most active mid-18th century the main group. Among these we artists in this field. can recognise: Fame, blowing her On the ceiling he painted a theme trumpet; the Graces sitting on which was particularly dear to a cloud just under the wedding Venetian nobility, the Triumph of chariot; Truth with the sun in her the Arts over Ignorance. Ca’ Rezzonico, Nuptial Allegory Room hand; and Merit, a bearded old Diziani presents us with a swarm of man crowned with laurels with St. allegorical figures, each one holding Mark’s lion at his feet and holding the tools of his particular art and a banner with the coats-of-arms painted in the warm, bright colours of the wedding couple’s families. learnt from his master Sebastiano Varying the points of view for Ricci. On the walls are a collection the arrangement of the figures, of portraits in pastels, a technique the painter creates a dynamic, which originated in France in the plausible image where even the Renaissance but which reached its paradoxical appears as concrete. peak during the 18th century. Only Giambattista Tiepolo’s The particular features of pastels, imagination and skill would have applied to a paper or cardboard been able to imagine the couple’s support, are their softness, arrival directly on the chariot of the rapid use and the possibility sun, and to render it credible at the of overlapping various layers Raphael Mengs, Portrait of Carlo same time. This room also contains of colour. This allows perfect Rezzonico Ca’ Rezzonico, Nuptial Allegory Room the Portrait of Carlo Rezzonico, son reproduction of texture, and of Giambattista, the first owner particularly of human skin, which of the palace, and the uncle of caused it to become the favourite Ludovico, who became pope in technique for portraits. Although 1758 with the name of Clement XIII. the pastel technique originated The painting is by Anton Raphael and flourished in France, it was the Mengs, the philosopher painter Venetian woman artist Rosalba who was the friend of Winckelmann Carriera who exploited it to its and the first protagonist of utmost, and gave it a more modern, Neoclassical painting. Reportedly, striking texture. the painting was originally intended The work of Rosalba Carriera, the to be displayed in the family palace most famous Italian woman artist in Venice, but shortly after its in Europe for the whole of the execution it was moved to Rome, 18th century, is exemplified in the where the Pope’s nephew, Cardinal portrait to the left of the door you Abbondio Rezzonico, had taken up came in by, Portrait of gentleman residence. On the right wall is the in red, where she captures the small chapel built in the second main features of the subject’s half of the 18th century. personality, depicting his fleshy, Framed by an elegant wilful mouth and penetrating decoration with gilded stuccowork gaze. The scintillating tones of the against a white background, the pastels light up the whole picture painting of the Madonna and and the impact of the image is Saints is by Francesco Zugno, increased through the contrast a pupil of Giambattista Tiepolo. of the vermillion jacket and the The glass cases lining the walls of luminous face. the room display porcelain from On the wall to your right, past different European manufactories the door which leads onto the from the collection of Marino Nani Portego (large central hall), Ca’ Rezzonico, Pastel room Mocenigo. another two of her masterpieces

> 6 are displayed: the Portrait of Sister collaborated with Guarana in other Maria Caterina and Portrait of circumstances too. Guarana, who the contralto Faustina Bordoni here was just beginning his career, Hasse. Comparing the two, we immediately revealed a stylistic can perceive Rosalba’s mastery of and cultural orientation which differing emotional registers, her were very different from Tiepolo’s. exceptional skill in interpreting the He abandoned bold perspectives, human soul. We see the benevolent presenting a composition which spirituality of the nun, who died stretched over a single visual in the odour of sanctity in 1734, plane, the figures being arranged contrasted with the energetic, in coy poses and described with shrewd expression of the singer, careful, meticulous brushstrokes.

Rosalba Carriera, Portrait of gentleman who was a real primadonna, a Guarana’s colour scheme consists Ca’ Rezzonico, Pastel room protagonist of 18th-century opera. of delicate half-tones, very different The fine portrait in the middle of from his master’s dazzling palette. the following wall is by Lorenzo The room takes its name from Tiepolo. It shows his mother three 18th-century Flemish wall- Cecilia Guardi Tiepolo, the wife tapestries with scenes from the of Giambattista Tiepolo and the story of Solomon and the Queen sister of Antonio and Francesco of Sheba. Like the magnificent Guardi. Notice in particular the furniture in this room, the delicate tones and the nuances of tapestries come from palazzo Balbi colour which make this painting, Valier at Santa Maria Formosa. done when Lorenzo was only 21 The refined workmanship of the years old, a work of refined quality. tables with their green marble The four small display cases along tops, the armchairs, the rare three- the walls contain porcelain from seater sofa, the two gheridòns the collection of Marino Nani (or three-legged tables), the Mocenigo. Particularly noteworthy curtainholders (called buonegrazie are the pieces belonging to a in Venetian), make this one of the Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate set most remarkable suites of furniture with bird and rock décor in gold in the Venetian Rococo style to on a blue background, also known have survived intact. The sinuosity as Hausmaler, from the Meissen of the legs of the furniture, and manufactory. the delicate ornamentation of — the surfaces, which imitates the 5. Tapestry Room asymmetries of sea foam and The ceiling of this room is broken shells, are typical of mid- decorated with a complex 18th century late Rococo; they also allegorical painting also done in demonstrate the change in taste the winter of 1757/58 by Jacopo as compared with the furniture Guarana, one of the most prolific made by Brustolon fifty years fresco painters in the Venetian previously, as regards both form palaces, who carried on Tiepolo’s and materials. In this room we find work after this artist’s departure the sole surviving element of the for Spain. In the composition we original furnishings, that is to say can recognize Fortitude with the the lacquered door decorated with helmet, and Temperance; then, oriental patterns, a testimony to higher up, Marital Harmony and the great 18th-century passion for Ca’ Rezzonico, Tapestry room Valour with the lion. On the left are chinoiserie. This very rare example Justice and Prudence; higher up is datable around 1760; some Eternity with the sun and moon, scholars have suggested that it Abundance, and Glory. In the may have been based on drawings corners are the theological Virtues. by Giambattista or Giandomenico The rich decorative frescoed Tiepolo, at the time working on the cornice surrounding the central frescoes of the palace’s rooms. scene is the work of the quadratura On the shorter walls, above the or architectural trompe-l’oeil two chest of drawers, two wooden painter Piero Visconti, who sculptures by Andrea Brustolon

> 7 representing the Penitent includes an elaborate console, and Magdalene and the Equestrian four armchairs so finely carved that Statue of Marcus Aurelius, are they were at one time attributed to displayed. the sculptor Antonio Corradini; this — artist however actually never made 6. Throne Room any works in wood. The decoration of the wedding This suite of furniture combines couple’s apartment ends with Baroque ornamental motifs, the ceiling of this last room, again such as the full-relief figurative frescoed by Giambattista Tiepolo elements, with a new lighter, more with the collaboration of Girolamo graceful kind of workmanship (for Mengozzi Colonna. It shows Merit example, elimination of linking Ca’ Rezzonico, Throne room as a bearded old man crowned elements on the armchair legs). with laurels rising to the Temple of This approach eventually led to the Immortal Glory accompanied by more slender shapes and smaller Nobility (the winged figure holding proportions which we saw in the a spear) and Virtue (the richly- furniture of the previous room. dressed figure to the right of the — old man). Other allegorical figures 7. Tiepolo Room and cherubs crown the scene. In this room you can admire the One of these, beneath the figure of third of Giambattista Tiepolo’s four Merit, is holding the Golden Book ceilings in Ca’ Rezzonico. of the Venetian Nobility where This modelled canvas shows the names of patrician families Nobility and Virtue defeating were registered, including that of Wickedness. Unlike the frescoes the Rezzonico family from 1687 in the other rooms of the lower onward. This room, lined in red piano nobile, this work was not Giambattista Tiepolo velvet, takes its name from the painted for the palace, but was Allegory of Merit Ca’ Rezzonico, Throne room gilded wooden throne decorated created between 1744 and 1745 with cherubs, sea-nymphs and for Pietro Barbarigo for his palace sea-horses. This was used by Pius in Santa Maria del Giglio. Later VI on 10th March 1782, when he it was removed by his heirs and stayed in Chioggia as a guest of the purchased in 1934 by the Venice Grassi family. It was however made Town Council to be exhibited in considerably before that date, this room. In this work, Tiepolo in the first decades of the 18th goes back to an allegorical theme century, and it shows the quality he had already used various times and exuberance of Brustolon’s for his noble patrons. This time carving, updated to suit a less he adds the figure of the elegant pompous, less showy taste. page bearing the train of Nobility, Less austere gilding were now who is perhaps the portrait of preferred to the dark, glossy late his son Giuseppe Maria. The 17th-century materials, and they splendid figures of the allegories helped to refine the ornamentation stand out from a sky of crystalline which was still quite massy. luminosity. The painting has a Ca’ Rezzonico, Tiepolo room The rich furniture of the room is consistently light colour scheme in the same taste. This includes with grey/silvery overtones which the imposing frame on the wall emphasise the iridescent orange to the left of the entrance door of Virtue. In this case too Tiepolo with its rich allegorical decoration was evidently greatly inspired by celebrating the moral virtues of Paolo Veronese’s use of bright the patrician Pietro Barbarigo, the colours, but the pungent sensuality subject of the portrait. Starting of the figures and the free, flowing from the Babarigo coat-of-arms at application of the paint is wholly the top and proceeding clockwise, 18th-century in character. An we see in order: Patriotism, important painting in this room, Charity, Constancy, Magnanimity, high up on the wall to the left of Giambattista Tiepolo, Nobility and Virtue defeating Wickedness Prudence, Justice and Faith. the entrance, is the Portrait of the Ca’ Rezzonico, Tiepolo room The remaining part of the furniture Architect Bartolomeo Ferracina,

> 8 by Alessandro Longhi, the son of models the clay according to Pietro Longhi and the most famous his first ideas which will then be late 18th-century Venetian portrait transferred into the finished marble painter. The furniture in this room work. Alongside these preparatory is of different origins and high studies, some beautifully-finished artistic value. The imposing walnut complete models have survived; bureau-trumeau is unique for its these the sculptor presented to size, workmanship and state of his clients for the final approval of conservation, and was perhaps the work. The examples displayed original to the palace. It is datable here reveal all Morlaiter’s artistic to the mid-18th century. qualities. He was the sculptor most The large eight-legged billiard able to transfer the vibrant light table with its green felt-covered effects of contemporary painting top in the middle of the room into the three-dimensional form; is particularly interesting. It so much so that he was often is a fine example of Venetian compared for the freshness of Baroque furniture, and its massy, his execution to , monumental forms and lion-paw who was in fact his close friend. feet suggest that it was probably In this selection we can admire made in the late 17th or the early the preparatory models for works 18th century. The eight carved made for churches, but also boxwood armchairs formerly models for garden statues and belonged to the Correr family and portraits and a splendid model for were traditionally attributed to a processional sign. Andrea Brustolon, but considering There is also a complete study for the inferior quality of the carving an altar relief, while the delightful are more likely to be the work of little rammed earth cherubs in his workshop or of a contemporary the showcase on the right were Giambattista Tiepolo, imitator. probably designed to be made in Nobility and Virtue defeating Wickedness The door between the bureau- porcelain. The mask of a bearded Ca’ Rezzonico, Tiepolo room trumeau and the fireplace leads to man is the model for the arch a narrow passageway displaying keystone which can be seen in the white porcelain groups produced courtyard of Ca’Rezzonico near the by the Venetian manufactory of water entrance. In his workshop Geminiano Cozzi and the one store Morlaiter also kept models by operated by Pasquale Antonibon in other sculptors. Nove. This is the case of the four busts — and the pair of cherubs on the top 8. Library shelves of the cupboards: these Some examples from the workshop are the work of Enrico Merengo, store of the sculptor Giovanni Morlaiter’s master. Maria Morlàiter have recently been Two rare models (only four are placed in the four late 17th-century known of) showing a Ceres for a walnut cupboards. garden statue, and a preparatory These include terracotta and Angel for the altar of the church rammed earth casts and models. of are The workshop store, which instead by the sculptor Giusto remained intact after the sculptor’s Le Court, the so-called “Adriatic death, was sold to the heirs of the Bernini”, who introduced the forms Ca’ Rezzonico, Library patrician Marcantonio Michièl, of Roman Baroque to Venice. then passed into the Donà delle A shaped canvas in a special Rose collection, from which it was stucco frame has been adapted purchased by the Town Council for the ceiling. The painting, The of Venice in 1935. Altogether it Allegory of Merit is by a Rovigo consists of a hundred or so pieces, artist, Mattia Bortoloni, a pupil and is an extraordinary testimony of Antonio Balestra and prolific to the creative methods of an fresco painter in Venice, the , 18thcentury sculptor, that is to Lombardy and Piedmont. say to the moment when the artist

> 9 9. Lazzarini Room by other scenes showing Daedalus In this room there are three and Icarus, Prometheus released Baroque paintings of imposing size. by Hercules, Perseus showing They are so big they practically Atlas the head of Medusa, and cover the whole of the walls. Andromeda bound to the rock. Antonio Molinari is the author of The five ovals are the work of the the work on the wall in front of you, painter Francesco Maffei The Battle between Centaurs and and are an excellent example of his Lapiths. The painting Hercules exuberant, unconventional style, so and Omphalus to the right of different from the more composed, the entrance door is by Antonio formal one of the paintings on the Bellucci, while Orpheus Torn to walls by his younger colleagues. Ca’ Rezzonico, Lazzarini Room Pieces by the Bacchantes on In the centre of the room stands the left is by Gregorio Lazzarini. a splendid writing-desk veneered These are three complex, in precious woods, with carved elaborate narrative scenes ivory inlays and gilded bronze rods. painted by the major ‘experts’ This is the work of the famous of this field of Venetian art; they Turin cabinet-maker Pietro Piffetti, were already considered by their signed and dated 1741. contemporaries to be the most — famous painters working in Venice. 10. Brustolon Room The works thus show late 17th- As we have seen in the ballroom, century at its the ‘decorative furniture’ carved best, and although the names of by Andrea Brustolon for the Venier their authors are now familiar only family is considered the greatest to specialists, in their time they masterpiece of early 18th-century Francesco Maffei, Prometheus with the were internationally famous. The Venetian carving. The most famous mirror given to him by Minerva, and the paintings were commissioned piece is certainly the console- eagle Ca’ Rezzonico, Lazzarini Room by the procurator Vettòre Correr, cumvase- stand on the right wall of who intended to place them in this room, at the bottom of which the so-called ‘Camaròn’, the main we see Hercules, the vanquisher of reception room of the palace. The the Lernian Hydra, with Cerberus at themes as a whole illustrated the his feet. On its shoulders Cerberus soul of Man devastated by passions bears the upper surface, which is and excesses. They may have been worked like a rough tree trunk, and intended as an original, ambiguous, shows three ebony blackamoors invitation to temperance for those in chains holding up a large vase. banqueting in that room, where At the two sides lie two bearded the heroes of mythology showed old men, each holding another two their least heroic side. The ceiling vases. An identical, exceptional is made up of five ovals inside skilful inventiveness also appears in gilded frames which stand out from the splendid series of vase-stands the dark blue background. Again, with the allegories of the Four this series of ceiling paintings was Seasons, the Four elements and not originally part of the original Apollo symbolising the light. furnishings of Ca’ Rezzonico, but The extraordinary care which was transferred into the Museum went into the making of these in 1936 from Palazzo Nani on Ca’ Rezzonico, Brustolon Room furnishings reveals the high the Cannarégio canal, along with consideration and above all the the series now in the Brustolòn value of the series of oriental room. Decoration of ceilings (Chinese and Japanese) vases in with canvases set into exuberant Pietro Venier’s collection. wooden frames was typical of the It was for these that these precious, late 17th century and preceded original stands were designed. the widespread popularity of the The ceiling decoration consists of fresco in the following century. In eleven canvases of different shapes the centre we see Prometheus with and sizes which come, like the five the mirror given to him by Minerva, now in the previous room, from and the eagle. This is surrounded Palazzo Nani at Cannaregio, and

> 10 are again the work of Francesco Now it contains 18th-century Maffei. In this case, identification marble busts inside niches or of the extremely heterogeneous on brackets showing portraits subjects is complex and inevitably and allegorical figures, while the to a certain extent unreliable. walls are lined in pink marmorino In the centre is the oval with polished plaster. Sofas of refined Jove; around him, starting with rocaille taste, carved walnut trestle the naked figure with a bunch of tables and an elegant gilded flowers representingThe Sense sedan chair upholstered in red of Smell and moving clockwise we silk complete the furnishings. see: Mercury, Apollo, Saturn, T Among the ornamental sculptures he Sense of Touch, Mars, Diana. to the right of the sedan chair, is Ca’ Rezzonico, Brustolon Room Near the walls on the long sides a remarkable bust of Envy, the are: The Sense of Hearing and work of Giusto Le Cour. The author Minerva as Divine Wisdom. shows with highly convincing The four monochrome tondos in naturalism the allegory described the corners of the ceiling showing by Cesare Ripa in his Iconologia the Four Continents are by a as an “old, ugly, and pale woman, different artist. They too come her body is lean and wasted, with from a ceiling in Palazzo Nani but malevolent eyes and dishevelled were painted over a century later hair, and snakes swarm from her by Francesco Polazzo. head”. Quite different is instead In the centre of the room hangs the carnal and languid Lucretia the superb crystal glass chandelier visible against the same wall on the with its two rows of 20 candle- left, by Filippo Parodi, a Genoese holders and brightlycoloured glass sculptor also active in Venice. paste flowers. This was produced On either side of the doorway, towards the mid-18th century by which is almost a triumphal arch the Murano factory of Giuseppe dominated by the Rezzonico Briati, and is certainly the most coat-of-arms, are two sculptures extraordinary example of its kind by Alessandro Vittoria, originally to have come down to us intact. two telamons holding up the hood — of the imposing late 16th-century 11. Portego fireplace. The two large console In the traditional structure of the tables against the wall feature Venetian palace the portego, or two superb hard stone inlaid Ca’ Rezzonico, Portego connecting hall, was the largest tops by Benedetto Corberelli, a area in the building, and it played member of a Florentine family the role of reception room. In active in northern during Longhena’s project which was the seventeenth and eighteenth then revised by Massari, this role centuries, specialized in the has been taken over by the main production of this kind of artefacts. central room, a type of room Created for Bishop Francesco imported to Venice from the Pisani, the two table tops show a architecture of the Roman palaces. rich decoration with floral spirals Thus the portego became simply and interlaced branches that a connecting element between the surround a central medallion rooms and the staircase leading depicting Orpheus and the to the other floors. This area was Phoenix respectively. Animals once decorated by four canvases and colourful birds peep out with religious subjects by Luca from among the branches, while episodes from Aesop’s fables can Giusto Le Court, Envy, Giordano, which were then sold Ca’ Rezzonico, Portego during the 19th century. be recognized in the corners.

> 11 FLOOR

2 16 17 18 19

12 12. Picture - Gallery Portego

13. Giandomenico Tiepolo Canal Grande 13 in Zianigo 14. Harpsichord room 15 14 15. Room of the Parlatory 16. Longhi Room 17. Green Lacquer Room 18. Guardi Room 19. Alcove

12. Picture gallery portego portego of Palazzo Pisani Moretta at In the second-floor portego some San Polo, where it was paired with a of the most important paintings in painting by Paolo Veronese showing the museum are displayed. Alexander and Darius’ Family, later These provide excellent examples sold by the owners to the National of the various painting genres of Gallery of London. 18th-century Venetian art: the The Death of Darius is one of the veduta (or “view”), the landscape, great master’s most important the capriccio, the portrait and the works. All the particular features of Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego figure painting. his style, so different from that of his contemporary and rival Tiepolo, can The Dutch Diplomatic Meeting be recognised in it. The atmosphere by Francesco Guardi, a work which is gloomy and dramatic, an effect refers to a precise historical event, which has been emphasised by the trading agreement signed alterations in the colours which in The Hague on 27th August have occurred due to the priming 1753 between the Kingdom of with Armenian bole. Naples and Holland. The painting Over the centuries this priming was commissioned by Count has absorbed and cancelled some Finocchiatti, the representative hues, such as the pinks and light of the Bourbon sovereign, who blues. Piazzetta’s rendering of immediately after the event came faces and gestures is the result of to Venice and commissioned the careful meditation, in contrast to Francesco Guardi, The Dutch Diplomatic Meeting work. Together with the other Tiepolo’s quick, free brush strokes. Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego works by Francesco Guardi in Piazzetta also impeccably defines Ca’ Rezzonico such as the Foyer, the anatomy of the nude, as can the Parlatory of the Nuns, the be observed in the extraordinary Signboard of the Guild of the image of the Persian king’s Coroneri (or rosary-makers), it outstretched body. A stucco frame forms the most important group of surrounds a painting by Gian interiors by this artist present in a Antonio Pellegrini showing Mutius public collection. Scaevola Standing before Porsenna. This is a fine example of the late On the opposite wall is the work of this major exponent of large canvas of the Death of international rococo, which was Giambattista Piazzetta, Death of Darius Darius, painted in about 1746 by wholly concentrated on painting Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego Giambattista Piazzetta for the techniques.

> 12 He uses a rapid, loose application of whose work can be admired in the contrasting, clashing colours. palace also in the frescoed ceiling of the Pastel Room on the first floor. The next part of the wall is In this painting he managed dedicated to the display of the two to capture a striking picture of early masterpieces by Canaletto, Venetian life. In using a nocturnal View of the Grand Canal from setting and a vivid description of Ca’ Balbi towards Rialto, and the revellers, from all different social Rio dei Mendicanti (the classes and caught in a private Canaletto, View of the Grand Canal from Beggars’ Canal). moment of merriment, Diziani Ca’ Balbi towards Rialto Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego These are the only two views by the offers us one of the most convincing master which can be seen in the examples of his prolific activity while public collections of Venice. These making us relive the atmosphere of paintings were originally part of eighteenth century Venice. a series of four, belonging to the — Princes of Liechtenstein. 13. Giandomenico Tiepolo The other two are today in the in Zianigo Thyssen-Bornemisza museum In these rooms you can admire the of Madrid). In the first painting fresoces painted by Giandomenico Canaletto exalts the particular Tiepolo in the family villa in Zianigo. nature of Venice as a “city of water”, Stripped in 1906 for sale abroad, Canaletto, Rio dei Mendicanti expanding the true width of the they were purchased by the Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego Grand Canal. Sunlight breaks town of Venice and transferred in in from the right, illuminating 1936 to Ca’Rezzonico. Here they even the smallest element of the were hung in small rooms which composition, and making even the wherever possible reproduce their most distant buildings distinctly original location. The paintings perceptible. Within the perspective were completed over a fairly long structure Canaletto builds up a period, between 1759 and 1797, and stupefying realism which is obtained undoubtedly constitute one of the through an extraordinary use of most fascinating, singular bodies light. Nor does he hide the signs of work in the whole of Venetian of the pictorial operation; indeed painting. They are works painted he exhibits them bared-facedly: not for a client but for the artist loaded, frayed brush strokes which and his family’s own pleasure, in offer the viewer a more ‘realistic’, the private context of their home. more lively, interpretation of the This very circumstance freed town. Canaletto adds views which the painter from thematic and Gaspare Diziani, The Feast of St. Martha had formerly been ignored to figurative conventions and allowed Ca’ Rezzonico, Picture gallery portego the standard repertoire, which him to follow his own intimate concentrated on the area around St. nature, a propensity to sarcastic Mark’s Square. These included both description of the world around the Grand Canal and little-known him. The first work in front of the corners of Venice, one of which was door shows a scene from Torquato this Rio dei mendicanti, in which the Tasso’s poem Jerusalem Delivered. artist depicts a popular district and It shows Rinaldo Abandoning describes it in all its plebean beauty. the Garden of Armida, and was formerly on the ground floor of The opposite wall features The the villa of Zianigo. We are still in a Feast of St. Martha by Gaspare figurative dimension, where both Diziani. The large painting depicts style and theme are closely linked the feast, or eve, of St. Martha’s to Giandomenico’s father’s world. Day, a popular festival that was The subject is connected to celebrated the night before the the grand Baroque tradition of anniversary of the saint in front of historical painting; Giandomenico the eponymous church located at however interprets it with an the westernmost end of Zattere. ungrammatical expressiveness It is a unique example in the which corrodes its solemn, Ca’ Rezzonico, production of Gaspare Diziani, Giandomenico Tiepolo in Zianigo sophisticated effect. > 13 His particular nature is fully scraggy limbs of personages expressed on the left of the back who again turn their backs on us, wall, in the snapshot-like image making a stage exit. The frescoes of the Hawk Swooping onto decorating the small chapel were the Flock of Sparrows in Flight. probably the first ones painted in This was originally a ceiling and, the villa by Giandomenico Tiepolo. instead of his father’s mythologies, The chapel was in fact dedicated in Giandomenico painted a theme 1758 to the blessed Jerome Miani, of limpid, natural simplicity. It the founder of the order of the is impossible not to see in this Somaschi to which the painter’s painting an allusion to the empirical younger brother, Giuseppe Maria, culture of the Enlightenment, belonged. Besides the altarpiece where the sky is the space of with the Madonna and Child birds and not the home of ancient adored by St. Jerome Miani and St. divinities. The frescoes in the James the Apostle, Giandomenico next room repropose themes painted two monochromes of the already painted by Giandomenico saint’s life at either side. Following Tiepolo in his youth in the guest his propensity for concreteness quarters of the villa Valmarana. and close observation of reality, After many years he gave them Giandomenico interpreted the two a new monumental form and miraculous events as moments in Giandomenico Tiepolo, The New World reinterpreted them with a more the life of a seminary, a life veiled mature eye which scrutinised his with melancholic squalor, spare contemporaries with ruthless and frugal, where there is no space irony. The New World shows a for miracles. The Punchinello (or crowd of people thronging around Punch) Room, which is actually a the huckster in his booth with proper bed-chamber, was the last the magic lantern, called in fact one to be painted by Giandomenico “New World” for the images of Tiepolo, and it is perhaps the exotic places shown inside it. most famous of the whole cycle. This amusement attracted not In contrast with the show which only children as was traditional, is denied to the viewer in the New but the whole of society: World, a swarming multitude of common people, peasants, the figures is offered up to us here. middle classes; here they are all The main character is Punchinello, depicted lifesize from the rear the Commedia dell’Arte character in a single great anti-portrait. who embodies the popular soul in In this fresco, Giandomenico an eternal parody of Man and his

Giandomenico Tiepolo, The overturns the classic conception weaknesses. In the last years of Punchinello Room of representation; the scene does his life, Giandomenico was literally not present itself to the viewer obsessed by this figure, whom but paradoxically denies itself he painted on the walls of his to our scrutiny, hiding that very house and in dozens of drawings show which had drawn the crowd. which were then collected in an We are not looking at a scene, album. This album has since been rather at someone who in turn is dismantled and its single sheets watching what is happening. In have been scattered over various the two minor scenes, the painter public and private collections. presents another theme which is In this Commedia dell’Arte particularly dear to him, that of character the artist found the the promenade and the dance. perfect incarnation of that Here they lose that chivalrous, irreverent, sarcastic spirit which Giandomenico Tiepolo, small chapel fashionable context typical of was his own natural disposition. Giandomenico’s early small In the frescoes in this room, pictures. The Promenade in the innumerable Punchinellos have villa conveys an involuntarily comic suddenly emerged from the effect: the sophisticated elegance entrails of the earth up a ladder. of the clothes strikes a false note They perform the same actions when they are seen on the skinny, as the nobility, or mimic the

> 14 protagonists of the fairytales Venice the chemical formula for and mythologies described by porcelain, originally discovered in Giambattista Tiepolo. 1710 by Johann Friedrich Böttger, They have fun on the swing, flirt an alchemist at the royal Court with the women during carnival, at . Vezzi’s porcelain watch the tumblers’ shows, production began in 1720 and had carouse and get drunk, join already ceased by 1727. the promenade; in one of the Now this objects are very rare. monochromes they even chase All made of a characteristicacally away a fashionably-dressed young hard, translucent porcelain that lady. The future imagined by the was very similar to the porcelain painter is tragic-comic, terrifying produced in Meissen. Amongst and topical in its pessimism. the pieces on display, there is He contrasts the fatuous New a remarkable series of elegant World with another brand-new bell-shaped cups with iron red, world, a world populated with blue and gold decorations and Giandomenico Tiepolo, The swing of Punchinello irreverent, rough people, a world mithological scenes depicted by of free, equal individuals. Here Ludovico Ortolani. Other significant Giandomenico appears to allude examples were produced by to the revolutionary message then Geminiano Cozzi porcelain arriving from France. It may be a manufactory from 1764 to the early coincidence, but the date of the 19th Century. Cozzi’s production completion of the frescoes was was typified by his continually 1797, the fatal year of the fall of the modernised forms and decorations Venetian Republic. which changed according to — fashion and tastes. The marvellous 14. Harpsichord Room tea and coffee service donated to The room takes name from the Ca’ Rezzonico by Prince Umberto harpsichord (dated to the third of Savoy with red monochrome quarter of the Seventeenth decorations of landscapes and Century), probably made in country scenes is one of the Cozzi’s Urbino, which was subsequently earliest production and one of his mounted on anachronistic legs. masterpieces. Ca’ Rezzonico, Harpsichord Room The decoration on the sides is in — lacca povera, which consists of 15. Room of the Parlatory printed cut-outs glued on then This room contains two of the most coated with a layer of protective famous paintings by Francesco transparent varnish. In this specific Guardi, showing on the left the case, it shows hunting scenes, Parlatory of the Nuns of San landscapes and trysts. The drop- Zaccaria and on the right the Foyer leaf chest of drawers against the of palazzo Dandolo at San Moisè. wall is decorated with the same Thus two “interior views”, which technique. In three modern glass in a certain sense anticipate the display cases along the wall, town views which Francesco began there is an important selection to paint only in the second half of porcelain objects that provide of the century. Notice the quality Francesco Guardi, Parlatory of the Nuns of San Zaccaria an overview of some of the most of the lively figures,which have Ca’ Rezzonico, Sala del Parlatorio important of the Eighteenth- the same freshness of touch and Century European production, delicacy of colour as those which including extremely famous pieces were to people his innumerable from Meissen, Sèvres and Wien. outside views. The Foyer shows The most significant group was the large main room of the gaming produced locally, and specifically house of palazzo Dandolo in San in Venice (by Vezzi and Cozzi) Moisè, whose walls were lined and Nove, near Bassano (by with “cuoridoro” before 1768, Antonibon). when the interior of the old palace The earliest manufactory in was restructured in Neoclassical Francesco Guardi, oyer of palazzo Dandolo at San Moisè Venice was that of Giovanni Vezzi, style according to a project by Ca’ Rezzonico, Sala del Parlatorio who was the first to bring to Bernardino Maccaruzzi.

> 15 The Ridotto, or Foyer, was operated 16. Longhi Room directly by the State and remained The painting on the ceiling with open during the months of the Zephyr and Flora is the last painting endless Venetian carnival, lasting by Giambattista Tiepolo present from December 26th to Ash in the palace, although it was the Wednesday. Anyone visiting the first to be painted. It comes in fact premises was required to wear a from the rooms of Ca’ Pesaro and Ca’ Rezzonico, Sala del Parlatorio mask, with the exception of the was done on the occasion of the noblemen who ran the gambling marriage between Antonio Pesaro tables, who were chosen from and Caterina Sagredo, celebrated the least prosperous families, in 1732. the socalled Barnabotti class of The subject, which was frequent impoverished nobility. in the Baroque era, alludes to the Frequented by pimps, prostitutes reawakening of nature (Flora) with and usurers, it was closed for the coming of spring, which is reasons of public order in 1774. announced by a light, warm breeze Guardi’s painting is certainly the (Zephyr). It augurs fecundity for most interesting depiction of this the newlyweds.The colours are space, visited by all travellers transparent and bright; virtuoso spending any time in the city. pieces like Flora’s iridescent The Parlatory instead shows the drape or the crystalline texture visiting-room of the convent of of Zephyr’s wings alternate with San Zaccaria, one of the most sensuous flesh tones. In contrast important in Venice, where to Tiepolo’s imaginative art, along descendants of the noble Venetian the walls you can view the whole of families were sent to become nuns. Pietro Longhi’s original production, Here, relatives and friends could which takes us into the daily life converse with the nuns and during of 18th-century Venice, both the these meetings puppet shows festive life of the carnival and the Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room were also put on for any small reserved life of the nobility who, guests. A fresco stripped from a for the first time here, open the reception room of Palazzo Nani in doors of their palaces to indiscrete Cannaregio has been fitted to the scrutiny, at least in a virtual sense. ceiling. It shows Conjugal harmony Pietro Longhi’s artistic career was crowned by Virtue in the presence long and complex and covered of Justice, Prudence, Temperance, numerous artistic genres. Fame, Abundance, and is the work After a not very brilliant career as of Costantini Cedini, a late pupil of an historical painter he converted Giambattista Tiepolo. to genre painting, more precisely The decorative frame surrounding to the painting of pastoral scenes. the central scene was painted First he painted isolated figures of about a century earlier by the shepherds and peasant women, trompe l’oeil painter Antonio then he transferred them into Felice Ferrari. The greenish-yellow rustic country interiors, where they Giambattista Tiepolo, Zephyr and Flora lacquer suite of furniture with floral are seen in attitudes of tender, Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room decorations is of notable quality; joyful complicity, as in the painting it comes from Palazzo Calbo Crotta called Polenta or the one called at Gli Scalzi. Particularly fine is Furlana, a folk dance. After these the large curving chest of drawers works dedicated to a merry Italian with the marble top, surmounted Arcadia, towards the mid-18th by the imposing but slender mirror century Longhi’s investigative eye with its lovely gilded crest; and the turned to the town, and he changed two twin bedside tables with their subject and style. similar rocaille lines, again repeated It was in this field that he made in the ten elegant armchairs, whose his name. His new subjects were upholstery is however modern. the members of Venetian patrician The frame which fixes the wall society, no longer shown in formal Pietro Longhi, Polenta covering is also from the same portraits like those on the lower Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room period. floor, but portrayed as they went

> 16 about their daily business: the India Company, had brought her Barber, the Morning Chocolate, with him from Bengal, soon turning or the Visit of the bauta (bauta is her into an attraction that toured a masked carnival character) or all the major European cities up The Moor’s Letter. It was the first to 1758, the year of her death. time that the Venetian aristocracy As stated in the notice painted had been shown, so to speak, in in trompe l’oeil to the right of their dressing gowns, busy at their the painting, this portrait of the various pastimes. In describing rhinoceros was commissioned to this private world Pietro Longhi the artist by Giovanni Grimaldi, Pietro Longhi, The Painter’s Studio uses an extremely delicate who had a private menagerie Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room technique based on soft colours with many exotic animals in his and continuous tiny brushstrokes villa on the mainland. Longhi which enhance the effect of the made a second painting nearly elaborate fabrics. The painter also identical to Grimani’s for follows the aristocratic couple Girolamo Mocenigo, now in the outside their homes, where they National Gallery in London. It is are going not to take part in public undoubtedly one of Pietro Longhi’s ceremonies but to have fun at the masterpieces, who succeeded Carnival. The places they stop at in documenting the curiosity are the huckster’s or hawkers’ awakened by this unusual arrival stands. Longhi portrays the noble in the city, magically combining Venetians with their faces masked intimate and the mundane so as to remain anonymous, just aspects by placing the animal in as Venetian Republican laws the fascinating atmosphere of Pietro Longhi, conversation between demanded. The attractions of the the Venetian carnival, to which it bautas Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room Carnival, which lasted all of three adds a fresh touch of historical months, included exotic animals truth. At the center of the like lions, elephants and, in this pyramidal composition, we find case, a Rhinoceros. These were the commissioner of the painting real curiosities for those times, and himself (who was 23 years old it was the patricians themselves at the time) next to his beautiful who asked Longhi to immortalise and unfortunate bride, Caterina them in paint. The yellow lacquer Contarini, who was to die shortly furniture decorated with floral after giving birth to their only motifs and red curls was originally daughter. in a drawing-room in Palazzo — Calbo Crotta. The rare tub sofa is 17. Green lacquer Room particularly curious. The room known as the Green Lacquer Room is one of the The Rhinoceros most enchanting rooms in the Throughout the Venetian carnival, palace. It takes its name from the which lasted a full three months, emerald green lacquered furniture Pietro Longhi, Il Rinoceronte the various booths set up in the from Palazzo Calbo Crotta at Ca’ Rezzonico, Longhi Room St. Mark’s area kept coming Canneregio, with its decorative curious and various vendors: elements in gilded pastiglia (that puppeteers, magicians, astrologers, is, a kind of stucco made with charlatans, depicted by Pietro plaster and marble dust). Over the Longhi in many of the paintings centuries, the fanciful accounts of on display here. Among the major travellers had caused a decidedly attractions there were also exotic unreal view of China and more animals such as lions, elephants generally of the whole orient to be and, in this case, the Rhinoceros. spread over Europe; it was seen For the carnival of 1751, after a as an imaginary land populated highly successful European tour, by inhabitants with improbable there arrived in Venice a female customs. In the figurative arts, Indian rhinoceros named Clara. interest in the marvellous Cathay Ca’ Rezzonico, Green lacquer Room The owner, Douwe Mout van der had already materialised in the Meer, a captain of the Dutch East 17th century at the court of Louis

> 17 XIV, but it was in the following uncovered during a restoration century that it became a real of Palazzo Barbarigo Dabalà in fad infecting all aspects of the 1936. Stripped from their original figurative arts. In fact there are location, they were transferred many elements of far eastern art to Ca’Rezzonico in that same which coincide with rococo art: year. On the entrance wall we asymmetry, lightness, absence of findVenus and Cupid depicted in Ca’ Rezzonico, Green lacquer Room shading and perspective. Eastern front of Vulcan’s forge,while Apollo and European motifs thus merged occupies the wall in front of the to form an independent new style fireplace. which, it should be specified, was He is crowned with laurels and a wholly western: this style was cherub is handing him his quiver. known as chinoiserie. Decorative Minerva, on the next wall, is seated motifs from oriental prototypes among the clouds with a helmet were applied to western forms and a spear. and types, as in the furniture Although they are in a precarious here. Its exquisite, sinuous Louis state of conservation, these XV forms are however decorated works, the only frescoes by with narrative scenes full of exotic Antonio Guardi known today, still motifs. Pagodas, umbrellas, clearly show the painter’s skill in willows, cherry-trees and gold decoration. There is a festive, light oriental figurines flutter along the effect obtained by the use of soft green lacquer background, framed colours which almost resemble within rococo ornamental motifs. pastels, and by the typical use The small Chinese polychrome of open strokes in the outlines, figures in terracotta with moving leaving the forms unenclosed. heads are in fact original oriental The splendid marble bust of pieces. On the ceiling is the fine a Veiled Woman is the work of Triumph of Diana by Antonio the Venetian sculptor Antonio Guardi, coming from Palazzo Corradini and probably represents Barbarigo Dabalà and datable the allegory of Purity. to the 1760s. Diana, seated on a He was one of the most renowned cloud and surrounded by cherubs, sculptors of the eighteenth is holding a spear in her right century and it is no coincidence hand, while two cupids are playing that, in addition to contributing with a dog at her feet. Unlike projects for the decoration of his younger brother Francesco, the last Bucintoro, he worked Antonio Guardi never ventured for many European and Italian

Ca’ Rezzonico, Antonio Guardi Room into view painting, but remained a courts. He ended his life in Naples prolific figure painter throughout where he had been called to his not very successful career. In decorate the famous Cappella his latest works, which include the Sansevero on commission from frescoes in this and the next room, the whimsically eclectic Prince he showed himself to be one of the alchemist Raimondo di Sangro. most lyrical exponents of Venetian The motif of the face covered with rococo, creating compositions a dampened veil is recurrent in with a vibrant interplay of this sculptor, who was famous loose, frayed brushstrokes, and among his contemporaries for his transforming the figures into extraordinary virtuoso technique. diaphanous silhouettes which Instead of concealing the figure, dissolve into the light. the flimsy veil accentuates the — woman’s sensuality and adds a 18. Antonio Guardi Room note of intriguing mystery. The The frescoes in this room were nine armchairs with their curved commissioned from Antonio arms, backs and legs, and the Guardi by Maria Barbarigo two small chests of drawers with Savorgnàn and, like the one in their elegant rounded shape are in Antonio Corradini, green lacquer and decorated with Allegory of Purity the previous room, were painted Ca’ Rezzonico, Antonio Guardi Room over during the 19th century and polychrome flowers.

> 18 19. Alcove On the right of the bed, a display In this room, an 18th-century case contains a toiletry set bedchamber has been formerly belonging to the Pisani reconstructed, with its dressing Moretta family. rooms, wardrobe room and The set was made in 1752 for boudoir. The alcove comes from Cattaruzza Grimani on the Palazzo Carminati at San Stae, occasion of her marriage to Pietro and dates from the second half of Vettor Pisani. The twinned crests the 18th century. of the two families appear on the The bed is enclosed in carved lid of the coffer. Consisting of 58 wooden framework painted ivory pieces in gilded silver and green white. The wooden headboard onyx, it is the work of a silversmith is painted in tempera with in the from Augsburg. centre a Holy family with Saint All a lady could need is included: Anne and young St. John. Above a large table mirror and a shell- the bed is a pastel Madonna by shaped repousseé washbowl, a Rosalba Carriera, datable to the jewellery case, a powder bellows, Ca’ Rezzonico, Alcove second half of the 1720s. Outside candle holders and bottles for the alcove the furnishings consist fragrances and perfumes, and of a walnut, inlaid chest with even writing tools and cutlery. lid (bureau trumeau), probably Go through the door to the left of of Lombard origin, and a green the alcove into the boudoir which lacquered cradle with polychrome was transferred here from palazzo flowers. The walls are covered in Calbo Crotta. The walls still have 18th-century wallpaper decorated the original 18th-century stucco with small rural landscapes and work, while the paintings are by ruins, over which figures have Costantini Cedini. been moulded then painted.

> 19 FLOOR 3 21 20. The «Ai Do San Marchi»

pharmacy Canal Grande 20 21. Egidio Martini pictures gallery

20. The «Ai Do San Marchi» preparation of medications, are pharmacy the work of the Cozzi manufacture The «Ai Do San Marchi» pharmacy in Venice. The two largest was located in Campo San Stin in two-handled vessels, placed Venice on the corner of Calle Donà. symmetrically in the corners of the The earliest records of its existence far wall, bear the emblem of the date back to the second half of pharmacy: two facing lions holding the seventeenth century: we know the open Gospel, the symbol of the that in 1679 it was owned by Orazio protector of Venice, the evangelist Moscatello. Around mid-eighteenth Mark. Also noteworthy is the stylish century the owner was Bernardo desk with its refined convex lines. Saletti who was responsible for The second room is occupied by the complete refurbishing of the the workshop, with a fireplace and premises and its furnishings. a stove, as well as alembics in the Datable to that period are in fact most diverse forms, in the thinnest the furniture, most of the majolica glass from the Murano furnaces. vases, and the objects in the finest The third room is the back room Murano glass which are now at of the pharmacy. Here the walls Ca‘ Rezzonico. In 1908 the are completely covered with widow of the last owner, Anna panelling in painted pine wood, Mazzoni Costa, decided to sell enriched with carved capitals the furnishings, which were and rococo decorative elements. subsequently purchased by the The shelves are filled with other Parisian antiques dealer Raoul white majolica vases decorated Heilbronneur, who, unable to with blue markings, evidently transfer the entire acquisition part of the furnishings of the to France, at the suggestion of previous pharmacy before the the Venetian sculptor Antonio renovations carried out by Saletti, Dal Zotto, preferred to donate and additional Murano glass jars. it to the Musei Civici di Venezia. Also interesting are the two large The pharmacy consists of three mortars, used to grind the raw intercommunicating rooms. materials. The first, the shop itself, is fitted — with elegant furnishings in dark 21. Egidio Martini burl walnut; the decorated pictures gallery majolica vases on the shelves Egidio Martini’s donation is the most Ca’ Rezzonico, The «Ai Do San Marchi» designed to contain the spices important that has been made to the pharmacy and the materials needed for the city of Venice since the beginning of

> 20 the 20th century, for the number of The names represent the very works, their high quality and their best of Venetian art over a prolific philological and historical importance. period, which starts well before the It is a collection of paintings, almost 17th century and concludes long all of the Venetian school, ranging afterwards. from the 15th century to the beginning They include Cima da Conegliano, of the 20th. It includes works by Alvise Vivarini, Bonifacio de’ Pitati; important masters as well as paintings Tintoretto, Schiavone, Bassano, Paolo by artists who owe their place in the Fiammingo, Sustris; and history of Venetian art to the studies of Carpioni, Pietra Vecchia and Giovanni Martini himself. Segala, Palma il Giovane, Bernardo Egidio Martini, an eclectic scholar, Strozzi, Francesco Maffei, Langetti, began his activity of restoring ancient Pietro Liberi; Balestra, Niccolò paintings in the 1940s. Bambini and on up to Piazzetta, Nicola He discovered works by artists not fully Grassi, the Tiepolo family, Longhi, appreciated by the critics or by the Rosalba, Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, market, identifying and re-evaluating Pellegrini, Amigoni, Diziani, Antonio their role. At the same time, with great Marini, Zuccarelli and Zais. After the Ca’ Rezzonico, Egidio Martini acumen and many personal sacrifices, 18th century we come to Giuseppe pictures gallery he began to assemble a collection Bernardino Bison, Natale Schiavoni, of works which made a major Ippolito Caffi, Mancini, Emma Ciardi: contribution to our understanding but this is only a partial list of the of 17th- and 18th-century painting artists represented in the gallery. in the Veneto. His gallery faithfully The collection had become an reflects his work as a critic. It throws important reference-point for scholars an entirely new light on many aspects, when Martini conceived the idea of episodes and protagonists of Venetian donating it to the city. art. The range of works is very wide The Picture Gallery, thanks to this – genre-scenes, mythological works, enlightened and generous gesture, is marine landscapes, portraits, religious now open to the public and offers a subjects and allegories – and it fascinating itinerary to round off the includes a number of highly significant panorama of Veneto painting offered masterpieces. by the other museums in the city.

> 21 FLOOR 0/1 PIANO BROWNING

MEZZANINE Canal Grande

22. The Ferruccio Mestrovich Collection

22. The Ferruccio Mestrovich The head of the family, Aldo Collection (1885-1969) was persecuted The collection contains a nucleus during the Austrian rule for his of sixteen paintings, all of high Italian patriotism; his assets quality. There are two major works were confiscated by the Yugoslav by Iacopo Tintoretto, an altar-piece government and never returned. of striking intensity and an austere His son Audace worked for many portrait. Particularly noteworthy years in Venice as a lawyer. is a glowing and intimate “Sacra His youngest son, Ferruccio, Conversazione” by Bonifacio de’ a passionate scholar of early Pitati; in addition, there are other Veneto painting, is the donor of works by Benedetto Diana, Lelio this collection: the attributions of Jacopo Amigoni, Portrait of a Young Orsi, Jacopo Amigoni, Francesco the paintings are the result of his Woman (the ‘debutante’) Guardi and Alessandro Longhi, two research and studies; indeed, his Ca’ Rezzonico, Ferruccio Mestrovich Collection “soprarchi” (paintings above an suggestions and indications have arch) by Benedetto Carpaccio, son assisted several scholars on many and follower of Vittore and a small occasions in the publication of his panel by Cima da Conegliano. The paintings and other collections. Mestrovichs belong to an ancient Dalmatian family originally from Zara and have lived in Venice since 1945.

> 22 General Information

Venue

Ca’ Rezzonico Museum of 18th-century Venice Dorsoduro 3136 Venice

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How to get there

Vaporetto Line 1 Ca’ Rezzonico stop

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Opening Hours and Tickets

For ticket information and opening hours please consult the website: www.carezzonico.visitmuve.it

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Bookings

- on-line: www.carezzonico.visitmuve.it - calling the call center: 848082000 (from Italy); +39 041 42730892 (only from abroad) from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays, from 09:00 to 13:00

The booking office will also reply to customers through the e-mail address [email protected]

Reservation is not mandatory and it is not necessary in case of free tickets.

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