The Era of Michelangelo. Masterpieces from the Albertina

Palazzo Venier dei Leoni
701 Dorsoduro
30123 Venezia, Italy
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Press release
THE ERA OF MICHELANGELO
MASTERPIECES FROM THE ALBERTINA
28 February – 16 May 2004
Opening at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on 28 February 2004, The Era of Michelangelo.
Masterpieces from the Albertina presents 70 of the most important sixteenth century Italian
drawings and prints in the collections of the Albertina, Vienna. Michelangelo revolutionized the artist’s
conception of the human figure, in Florence (the Battle of Cascina cartoon) and in Rome (the Sistine
Chapel ceiling). This revolution is the major theme of the exhibition, beginning with a youthful study
by Michelangelo after a fresco by Masaccio. His long life, 1475-1564, sets the time frame for the
selection of 66 drawings and 4 prints which survey the artistic development of Michelangelo and of his
Italian contemporaries, with examples of the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Florence and Rome,
as well as Milan, Perugia, Parma, Naples, Cremona, Genoa, Bologna and Mantua.
First Fra Bartolomeo and then Raphael were quick to apprehend this change, abandoning the static
and graceful manner of the early Renaissance in favor of a heroic figure style orchestrated in complex
and dynamic figure compositions. Raphael came to be the main beneficiary of Papal patronage, both
Julius II and Leo X, from his arrival in Rome in 1508 until his early death in 1520. This exhibition tells
the story of how this High Renaissance style spread through Italy, above all thanks to the pupils of
Raphael (Giulio Romano, Perino del Vaga, Polidoro da Caravaggio) and, by developing its expressive,
graceful and artificial elements, how it transformed into Italian Mannerism (Parmigianino, Bandinelli,
Beccafumi, Francesco Salviati, Vasari). This courtly and decorative style was imported to France by
Francis I and Henry II, who hired Rosso Fiorentino, Primaticcio and Niccolò dell’Abbate to work in the
Château de Fontainebleau. This is the time and place when the art of drawing—whether as
preparatory studies for paintings or as finished works—rose to its highest level of achievement in the
history art.
Michelangelo’s drawings include studies for the Battle of Cascina cartoon and for the Sistine Chapel
ceiling as well as for a Pietà. Seventeen drawings by Raphael include the famous Madonna of the
Pomegranate, the Cumaean Sybil for his frescoes in Santa Maria della Pace, Rome, studies for his
frescoes in the Vatican Stanze, for the tapestry cartoons (Victoria & Albert Museum, London), for the
Logge of Leo X, and for his last great work The Transfiguration. Another celebrated drawing is a
caricature study by Leonardo da Vinci. The drawings are complemented by one engraving by
Marcantonio Raimondi (a masterpiece in collaboration with Raphael), two chiaroscuro woodcuts by
Ugo da Carpi, and an etching of The Entombment by Parmigianino. The exhibition concludes with a
highly finished figure drawing of Aeneas and a Boy by Daniele da Volterra, Michelangelo’s protégé in
his old age, which is based on drawings by Michelangelo himself.
Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, director of the Albertina, conceived the exhibition and selected the
works, with curator Dr. Achim Gnann, author of the catalogue. Dr Gnann is the distinguished author
of publications on Raphael, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Perino del Vaga, Parmigianino, and Michiel
Coxcie among others, and has worked on numerous exhibitions of masterdrawings from the Albertina
collection and Italian artists of the sixteenth century, both in Germany and abroad. The catalogue is
published by Electa (English, Italian and German editions, euro 35).
T H E
S O L O M O N
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G U G G E N H E I M
F O U N D A T I O N
The Albertina Vienna is considered the most comprehensive collection of old master drawings ever
assembled privately. Duke Albert of Saxon-Teschen (1738-1822) and his wife, a daughter of the
Empress Maria Theresa, devoted their lives to the collection. The Albertina collection was enlarged
th
under Albert’s successors and is preserved in the archducal palace of the 18 century. It now consists
of ca. 65,000 drawings and one million prints.
The exhibition will be on view 10-6 pm daily (closed March 16) through 16 May 2004. It will travel
subsequently to the Albertina, Vienna (15 July–10 October), and to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
(November 2004 – March 2005). Further information: www.etadimichelangelo.it
Support for this exhibition has been received from Listone Giordano,
Fondazione Corriere della Sera, AXA Art, and Intrapresae Collezione Guggenheim.
Institutional Patrons: Banca del Gottardo, Regione Veneto
The programs of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection are made possible by the Peggy Guggenheim
Collection Advisory Board and
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INTRAPRESÆ COLLEZIONE GUGGENHEIM
Hausbrandt
Alitalia
Leo Burnett
Arclinea
Listone Giordano
Automotive Products Italia
Nicoletti
Barbero 1891
Palladio Finanziaria
Bisazza
Rex Built-In
Corriere della Sera
Rubelli
Deloitte
Salvatore Ferragamo
Fitt
Swatch
Gruppo 3M Italia
Wella
Hangar Design Group
#151, February 2004
T H E
S O L O M O N
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G U G G E N H E I M
F O U N D A T I O N