The Vanvitelli Secret exhibition at the Royal Palace of Caserta will let us discover the Vanvitelli painter and sculptor, missing his most hidden side as creator of decorative works of art
An exhibition entirely dedicated to the great master Luigi Vanvitelli and that he will investigate both his best-known talent as a sculptor and the lesser-known one as an inventor of decorative works of art.
Is titled "Vanvitelli secret, his painters from Conca to Giaquinto - the Cathedra Petri” and will be exhibited at the Royal Palace of Caserta until 31 October 2014. The event was conceived by Paola Raffaella David, former Bapsae superintendent of Caserta and Benevento, curated by Vega de Martini and Francesco Petrucci and promoted by the European Center for Tourism.
It will be a very interesting exhibition itinerary as it will be presented to the public the works of the sculptor Vanvitelli, those of the painter Vanvitelli, but also those of Vanvitelli creator of decorative works of art.
One of the most significant elements will certainly be the portrait Gaspar van Wittel, Dutch landscape painter and father of the artist and on loan from the National Academy of San Luca.
However, paintings will also be exhibited attesting to the profound friendship that Vanvitelli had with painters who also collaborated with him over the years, such as Sebastiano Conca, Corrado Giaquinto (one of the main exponents of Rococo), Pompeo Batoni (head of the Roman eighteenth century) and Anton Raphael Mengs (father of neoclassicism). Some of their works featured in this exhibition have never been shown to the public, such as the Allegorical Portrait of Charles of Bourbon and the Portrait of Clement XIII.
However, as Francesco Petrucci also explains, "pictorialism can also be perceived in his project for the Royal Palace of Caserta: in the staircase, in the elements of the entrance hall, in the chromatic choices, in the relationship with the light that shapes the forms".
As for the Vanvitelli inventor of decorative works of art, it will be possible to admire the terracotta and gilded stucco model of one of the most important artifacts of his career: the Throne of St. Peter, late-Baroque element in Carrara marble designed for the Vatican Basilica and commissioned by Benedict XIV.
Vanvitelli was also a great admirer of music and at the Royal Palace of Caserta you can also see some of his letters from the Royal Palace of Caserta that document the competence, in addition to his mortuary mask kept in the Palazzo's depots.
Vanvitelli Secret Information
When: up to 31 October 2014.
Where:Historic apartments of the Royal Palace of Caserta
Timetables: 8:30 - 19:30, every day except Tuesday.
Ticket prices:
- Historic apartments and exhibition 11 €
- Historic apartments + exhibition + 14 park €
Info and contacts:
- tel: 0823- 277111
- website: Palace of Caserta
