By Yuling Chen, EDITOR
Mona Lisa Smile, Michelangelo's classic sculpture and Raphael's oil painting on canvas are arriving in Chongqing, China, this April.
According to the Information Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, the Chongqing Art Museum is to exhibit Miracle: Mona Lisa Smile and Three Renaissance Masters - Collections of the Bellini Family from April 26 to August 8, 2019.
This was announced by The Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Bellini Civic Museum, Xinhuanet Co., Ltd. Chongqing Branch on 28 December 2018.
Chongqing Art Museum is to exhibit Miracle: Mona Lisa Smile and Three Renaissance Masters - Collections of the Bellini Family from April 26 to August 8, 2019.
This is the largest exhibition of Renaissance treasures that Chongqing has ever seen. Moreover, 161 pieces of Renaissance artworks collected and handed down for around 600 years by 21 generations of the distinguished Bellini family in Italy will be presented at the Chongqing Art Museum. Meanwhile, the artworks of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, the three giants of Renaissance, will also be present here.
Liu Gang, General Manager of Xinhuanet Chongqing Branch, expressed at the press conference, “The special exhibition is not only an art display but also a feast where ideas collide via cultural exchanges.”
In addition, this exhibition will also present classics of other great artists in art history.
Mona Lisa Smile to Chongqing is artwork from a famous student of Leonardo da Vinci.
“The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is now preserved by the Louvre Museum in France. And the one to be exhibited is not the original masterpiece of him. Yet both of the two artworks were created during the same period.” according to the Bellini Civic Museum.
“living fossils” of Renaissance
According to Shen Qibin, Board Chairman of Shanghai Himalayas Museum, it is particularly worth mentioning that Giovanni Bellini is not only the founder of the Venetian school of painting but also the mentor of Tiziano Vecellio and Giorgione, two world-renowned art masters. “From the 15th century to now, the Bellini family has been engaging in the cultural and artistic inheritance. So we can honor it as the sample and living fossil of the families dedicating in art treasure inheritance during the Renaissance period.”
a master-level exhibition
When answering the reason to hold this special exhibition in Chongqing, Shen Qibin talked, “Chongqing deserves such a master-level exhibition as an international metropolis, and it will enjoy popularity from the public here.”
The exhibition hall will boast an area of 1,300 square meters. The exhibition will also combine AR/VR technology and audio system with surround sound. Through reproducing the scenes and displaying the exhibits at the intervals, the picture of the culture and art and living scenes of Florence in the Renaissance period, 600 years ago, the experience will be vivid, bringing the visitors the feeling of actually being there.
Deng Jianqiang, Party Secretary and Executive Director of Chongqing Art Museum, serves as the organizer of the special exhibition. In addition, he stressed the special meaning of this exhibition. “Chongqing is open and inclusive, and we should export our culture and art and also import excellent exhibitions," he added, "Undoubtedly, this exhibition in Chongqing will add luster and charm to the culture here. Chongqing’s arts circle, therefore, will gain a deeper and closer understanding of the artworks of these masters. This exhibition will be a rare chance for the artists and public of Chongqing to appreciate the masterpieces of the Renaissance period at the same time and place in their city.”
Source: CQCB
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