INCANTI DI TERRE LONTANE. HAYEZ, FONTANESI E LA PITTURA ITALIANA TRA OTTO E NOVECENTO

At the beginning, it was the near East, the exoticism and seduction of the hammam and harems, the palm trees, and minarets, but also the deserts populated by bedouins and camels, or the colors of Magreb. Then the artist turned his gaze elsewhere, even farther away, towards the cultures and atmospheres of the far east, equally as exotic and maybe even more enchanting.

And it is the Far East, the same that became popular thanks to adventure books filled with tigers or provocative opium smoke, the same that enthralled all of Europe thanks to the delicate blend of stories and of Japanese engravings, which is the focus of this retrospective dedicated to national painting in the 19th century. There will be many internationally renowned names involved.

There are many artists represented in this captivating exhibition. The two stars are Hayez (1791-1882) and Fontanesi (1818-1882), a painter and engraver native to Reggio Emilia. The East in his works is both the near east, Mediterranean, not directly experienced, but knowingly evoked. Then there is far away Japan, where the artist lived for sometime, honored by its people, and which he hoped to honor in his work.