Bassano del Grappa Civic Museum – BASSANO DEL GRAPPA
October 25, 2025 – February 22, 2026
From 25 October 2025 to 22 February 2026 the Civic Museum of Bassano del Grappa presents to the public the great exhibition which, more than ten years after the last exhibition dedicated to the artist, celebrates the work of one of the greatest exponents of Divisionism, one of the most sensitive observers of the natural world and an unparalleled poet of the mountain as a physical and symbolic place: Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899).
Made with the support of the Segantini Museum of St. Moritz and the Galleria Civica G. Segantini of Arco, and in collaboration with Dario Cimorelli Editore, the exhibition aims to retrace the entire artistic parable of Segantinifor the first time brings his works into dialogue with those of the major European artists of his time, from Millet to Van Gogh, to tell the story of the career of a star painter who contributed to and often influenced the main artistic movements of his time.
Born in Arco to a family of humble origins, Segantini trained in the workshop of the decorator Luigi Tettamanzi and, later, attended an evening course at the Brera Academy. From his early days in Milan, and subsequently to his move first to Brianza and then to the Rhaetian Alps, his work was determined by a profound communion with Nature and by the study of the expressive potential of light and color: a research that the painter would take to its extreme consequences with his arrival at Divisionism and which would find its full fulfillment in the rewriting, in a symbolic and pantheistic key, of the Alpine spaces that he made absolute and eternal in pictorial terms. From his “scapigliati” beginnings to pastoral painting, from his daring experiments as a colorist to his latest, lyrical attempts to capture the spirit of the mountains and celebrate their myth, the exhibition will follow the most important turning points in his biographical and artistic career through a chronological and geographical path divided into four sections and punctuated by numerous thematic focuses. Through Around a hundred masterpieces from the main public and private Italian and European collections – from the Musée d’Orsay to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam – some of which have been traced back more than a century since their creation, the major exhibition at the Civic Museums of Bassano del Grappa will allow the public to discover, with completely new eyes, one of the most extraordinary artists of the nineteenth century. The exhibition design, curated by Mustafa Sabbagh, creates a continuous dialogue between light and shadow, space and works of art, transforming the exhibition into a dramatic stage where the vibrant colors of the works shine, offering the visitor an emotional and immersive experience, amplified by a visual crescendo with a single focus: the art of Segantini. The exhibition is accompanied by an important scientific catalogue published by Dario Cimorelli. Publisher, purchasable at the link, collects the contributions of the most authoritative scholars of Segantini’s work, with extensive apparatus dedicated to the reconstruction of his artistic career, his painting technique and the most recent diagnostic investigations, in addition to the annotated profiles of the works on display.
The exhibition will be made even more accessible thanks to the free audio guide in Italian, English and German, created in collaboration with Audiogiro, which will accompany the public in discovering the life and art of Giovanni Segantini through the voice of Barbara Guidi, Director of the Civic Museums of Bassano del Grappa. To access the audio guide content, just have your smartphone and headphones, scan the QR Code at the Civic Museum ticket office and at the exhibition entrance, or save the link.
The exhibition is curated by Niccolò D’Agati.
Promoted and organized by Common e Civic Museums of Bassano del Grappa
With the contribution of: Veneto Region
As part of the Cultural Olympics of Milano Cortina 2026
With the contribution of: Italian Alpine Club and Fondazione Banca Popolare di Marostica Volksbank
With the support of: Segantini Museum in St. Moritz e Galleria Civica G. Segantini di Arco
In collaboration with: Lombardy Region e Dario Cimorelli Editore
Main sponsor: Ceccato Automobili S.p.A., F.lli Campagnolo S.p.A. e Mevis S.p.A.
Sponsor: Vortex Hydra Dams – Hydromechanical Equipment and Valves
Partner: FIAVET – Italian Federation of Travel and Tourism Business Associations
Media partner: Il Giornale di Vicenza, Radio Birikina e Network Veneta
The City of Bassano del Grappa would also like to express its heartfelt “public thanks” to:
Patrons in Art Bonus in support of the exhibition:
Mecenate in Art bonus for the educational project “Up there, on the peaks with Segantini”
Cover: Giovanni Segantini, Return from the Woods, 1889-1890. © Segantini Museum St. Moritz – Deposited by the Otto Fischbacher Giovanni Segantini Foundation
