Renaissance on Garda

MAG Riva del Garda | Museum
13 JULY 2024 – 20 OCTOBER 2024

On 12 July 2024, MAG inaugurated “Rinascimento sul Garda”, the exhibition that puts the thriving artistic interaction of Lake Garda during the 15th and 16th centuries under the spotlight of the general public, a period in which Benaco became a crossroads of commercial exchanges and a fertile ground for cultural encounters, thus encouraging a lively sharing of models, ideas and artistic experiences and creating a fruitful dialogue between the world of the north and the centers of Brescia, Verona and Mantua.

The exhibition, which can be visited at the Riva del Garda Museum until 20 October 2024, presents itself as a true invitation to embark on a fascinating journey to discover the masterpieces that have made this region a creative hub of unparalleled beauty. From sculpture to painting, from goldsmithing to textile art, each work on display tells a story, reveals a technique, and bears witness to the ingenuity and mastery of these artists. But the exhibition does not limit itself to presenting works of art of exceptional value. It is also an opportunity to delve deeper into the history and culture of the Garda area, to grasp the nuances of an era rich in excitement and transformation.

In this exhibition, Lake Garda reveals itself as a silent witness to centuries of history. Since ancient times, its waters have been an important means of communication, encouraging trade and dialogue between different cultures. And it is precisely from this crossroads of peoples and ideas that an era of extraordinary artistic flourishing came to life: the Renaissance. Due to the themes addressed and the quality of the objects presented, the exhibition aims to be an event of great importance capable of capturing the interest not only of enthusiasts, but also of the local community and the tourist public.
The aim of the initiative is to focus on the figurative context between the 15th and 16th centuries in Alto Garda. While the focus is mainly on the Trentino area, the intense social and cultural permeability favored by the lake entails a much broader horizon, ready to reconnect occasions and motifs that have brought Riva and Arco into dialogue with Brescia, Verona and the Mantua area, but also with the world of the North.

This compelling story, explored from different angles, unfolds through the works of artists such as Zenone Veronese, Giovan Francesco Caroto, Giovanni Demio, Pietro Bussolo, Stefano Lamberti, Maffeo Olivieri. To combine the study perspective with the needs of exhibition and dissemination, the exhibition is divided into five sections, each housed in a dedicated room.
The first section focuses on the fifteenth-century precursors and on the sharing of artistic models and typologies of the early sixteenth century, both in painting and sculpture. The serial production of plastic works in terracotta and hard stucco are highlighted, as well as the affirmation of the Madonna with Child, a typology of Venetian origin that finds a privileged context in Benaco.
The second section is entirely dedicated to the painting of the 1530s, the period of greatest splendor of the Renaissance on the northern shore of Garda. In this room you can admire the brilliant works of Francesco Gualtieri (monogrammist FV), the flagship of the MAG, together with other paintings that represent the local response to the Lombard demands and the start of the so-called Arco school.
This perspective, which underlines the role of cultural hinge played by the lake, also characterizes the third section, the most contained, where paintings and carvings representing the different souls of figurative culture dialogue, often intertwined in an original hybridization.
The protagonist of the fourth section is wooden sculpture, in which the carvers from Brescia excel, active not only in the centers bathed by the Benaco, but also in the Giudicarie valleys. The exhibition offers the unrepeatable opportunity to compare two masterpieces: the versions of Christ in Pietà by Stefano Lamberti in Condino and that of Maffeo Olivieri in Giustino.
Finally, the last room displays a selection of goldsmith and textile art works, while the exhibition closes with a remarkable 16th-century fresco from Palazzo Pretorio in Riva del Garda.

The main turning points and historical-critical issues related to the context investigated are explored in depth in the exhibition catalogue, where essays by the curators are accompanied by notes on the works on display. The catalogue is finally completed by an atlas and a map of the artistic heritage of Alto Garda, with particular attention to fixed works such as altarpieces and frescoes, an ideal continuation of the exhibition outside the Museum spaces.

The curators of this exhibition – all art historians – act as guides with their expertise and passion, allowing visitors to fully understand and appreciate the works on display. Luca Gabrielli, Giuseppe Sava, Luca Siracusano and Marco Tanzi, with their careful research and selection work, have been able to contextualise and coherently link the entire exhibition route in a common thread.

Edited by Luca Gabrielli, Giuseppe Sava, Luca Siracusano and Marco Tanzi

From an idea by Marco Tanzi shared by Vittorio Sgarbi