Donna in Scena (Woman on Stage): Boldini, Selvatico, Martini

From April 13th to July 28th, 2024, the Santa Caterina Museum in Treviso hosts the exhibition "Donna in Scena (Woman on Stage): Boldini, Selvatico, Martini", curated by Fabrizio Malachin.

M for modernity, fashion, enchantment. On the stage of the beautiful world between the 19th and 20th centuries, women become the protagonists, and to immortalize this magical moment, those artists who could capture the essence, charm, and eroticism of a truly unique era are called upon.

In the sumptuous exhibition "Donna in Scena (Woman on Stage): Boldini, Selvatico, Martini", promoted by the Municipality of Treviso, directed by Fabrizio Malachin, and on display from April 13th to July 28th at the Santa Caterina Museum, celebrities gather, from Eleonora Duse to Wally Toscanini, from Lydia Borelli to Toti Dal Monte, alongside elegant representatives of the Treviso, Veneto, and national bourgeoisie and nobility, immortalized by the colors of the most renowned painters spanning the turn of the century, artists often specializing in grand female portraiture and thus famous, admired, and sought after. From Giovanni Boldini to Giacomo Grosso, from Cesare Tallone to Vittorio Corcos, to the British artist John Lavery, in addition to the "Italians of Paris" Giuseppe de Nittis and Federico Zandomeneghi. Noteworthy is the selection of the great Venetian artists of the moment such as Ettore Tito, Pietro Pajetta, Eleuterio Pagliaro, and especially Giulio Ettore Erler and Lino Selvatico, the "Venetian Boldini", a champion of early 20th-century fashionable portraiture between Venice, Milan, and Europe. This exceptional selection is crowned by the outstanding presence of the most important masterpieces by Alberto Martini, a precursor of surrealism and a portraitist of magical atmosphere.

The curtain is about to rise at the Santa Caterina Museum on a journey through grand paintings, often absolute masterpieces, lent to the exhibition by institutions, museums, and public and private collections, alongside drawings, sculptures, and posters from the Treviso National Museum of the Salce Collection, as well as a selection of period garments, fans, and hats, bringing to life the years of the Belle Époque. This is a representation that is certainly partial, as it depicts an image of a minority and privileged part of society, the protagonists of the beautiful world, society gatherings, fashionable salons, and joie de vivre, competing to pose in front of the most fashionable painters. Yet, it is not merely a catwalk of beautiful women and extraordinary paintings. "Woman on Stage" is an exhibition that leads us to rediscover, relive, and dream of the charm of an era projected towards modernity, yet also decadent and sensually romantic.

"After the successful retrospectives on Canova, Arturo Martini, and Juti Ravenna, with this exhibition, we intend to deepen the investigation into our best artists active between the 19th and 20th centuries", says Mayor Mario Conte. "Indeed, that was a particularly vibrant period for Treviso, both economically, with the rise of successful businesses and economic activities, and artistically dynamic. Just think of that group of young people who gathered around Gino Rossi and Arturo Martini. For the latter, as for all the true protagonists, the Venetian environment remained the primary reference point, but there was also a tendency to engage with the more fashionable environments, particularly Milan, Munich, and Paris. Treviso reaffirms, once again, its role in art with a major exhibition, promoting its beauties and peculiarities by making known its best interpreters in a continuous investigation aimed at enriching the cultural landscape".... read the rest of the article»