Infinite beauty

Today, the debate on environmental protection, climate change, the emergencies caused by pollution and the reckless devastation caused by man to our planet is more than ever a hot topic in the international agenda. It is important to stress how similar themes such as love, sensitivity for Nature and passion for uncontaminated landscapes have inspired numerous artists of the past, from pre-Romantic painters of the late eighteenth century to contemporary masters.

The exhibition Infinite beauty. Landscape in Italy from Romantic painting to contemporary art is held in the majestic Citroniera of the Juvarra Stables, in the Reggia di Venaria, once a shelter for the citrus plants of the Gardens. Its purpose is to document such interest and passion for these topics by presenting over 200 works including paintings, photographs, videos and installations.

The exhibition was made possible thanks to an agreement between the Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude and the Fondazione Torino Musei, which allowed about 100 paintings from the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art of Turin to become the protagonists of this event focusing on the Green theme. The exhibition itinerary follows a rigorous historical and artistic order, with a chronological and geographical fil rouge that travels through Space and Time with a particular focus on Piedmont – the region in which the exhibition came to life – and, more in general, the whole Northern area of the Italian Peninsula, without forgetting the regional schools of Central and Southern Italy. The twelve sections of the exhibition offer an exceptional round-up of works, many of which are notably large, delving into the different forms that the representation of the landscape in Italy has taken throughout over two centuries of painting.

The works on display were borrowed not only from the GAM but also from renowned Italian museums and private collections, including the Turin City Museum of Ancient Art in Palazzo Madama, the Royal Museums of Turin, , the Modern Art Gallery in Milan, the Gallery of Modern Art in Genoa, the Civic Museums of Brescia, GNAM in Rome, the Venice Civic Museums Foundation and the Uffizi Gallery.

The exhibition, under the auspices of the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the Metropolitan City of Turin, is curated by Virginia Bertone (Chief Curator of the GAM), Guido Curto (General Manager of the Reggia di Venaria and of the Consortium of Royal Savoy Residences) and Riccardo Passoni (Director of the GAM), supported by a scientific committee composed of Barbara Cinelli (Roma Tre University), Piergiorgio Dragone (University of Turin), Flavio Fergonzi (Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa) and Laura Iamurri (Roma Tre University).