From 12 April XNL hosts “Klimt. The man, the artist, his world”

On 12 April 2022, Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi and XNL Piacenza will open to the public the exhibition Klimt. L’uomo, l’artista, il suo mondo (“Klimt. The man, the artist, and his world”). The show will recount one of the most exciting periods of early-twentieth-century art history, seen through the life, the creative path, and the collaborations of the father of the Viennese Secession: Gustav Klimt.

More than 160 pieces will be on show, including paintings, sculptures, graphic work, and decorative art items, from 20 prestigious collections, public and private, including Vienna’s Belvedere, the Klimt Foundation in Vienna, Venice’s Ca’ Pesaro-Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, the Lentos Museum in Linz, Innsbruck’s Tiroler Landes Museum, the Wien Museum, and many others.

Curated by Gabriella Belli and Elena Pontiggia, with the scientific coordination of Lucia Pini, director of Piacenza’s Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi, and the collaboration of Valerio Terraroli and Alessandra Tiddia, the exhibition aims to celebrate the “homecoming” of Klimt’s Portrait of a Lady (1916-17) – the painting that disappeared from the Ricci Oddi Gallery in in 1997, and was luckily rediscovered in 2019.

The exhibition itinerary begins with the climate of European symbolism, where Klimt got his start with etchings and drawings emblematic of Klinger, Redon, Munch, Ensor, Khnopff, von Stuck’s famous Medusa, and sculptures by Minne and Klinger himself, and then introduces the visitor to Klimt’s world, with his first works and first comrades: his brothers Georg and Ernst, and his friend Franz Matsch.

The exhibition then delves into the painter’s history through the Viennese Secession he founded with 17 other artists in 1897 as a sign of protest against official art. Portrait of Joseph Pembauer (1890), Klimt’s masterpiece heralding his “golden age,” leads to such works as Woman with Cape and Hat against a Red Background (1897-1898), Lady at the Fireplace (1897-1898), After the Rain (1898), Friends I (The Sisters) from 1907, Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl (1913-1914), Portrait of a Lady in White (1917-1918).

An entire section of the exhibition is devoted to the Portrait of a Lady at Piacenza’s Galleria Ricci Oddi, and to recounting its adventurous history.

The world of Wiener Werkstätte, the decorative art workshops founded in Vienna by Josef Hoffmann and Kolo Moser in 1903, is documented through furnishings, silver, glass, and ceramics. Also on show are both posters for the first exhibition of the Secession, including Klimt’s then-scandalous Theseus and the Minotaur (1898) (present in two versions: original and censored), and magazines like Ver Sacrum. A selection of drawings and etchings by Schiele and Kokoschka, including the fairy-tale series The Dreaming Boys (1908-1909), a fundamental work from the master’s youthful season, recalls the younger generation of Austrian artists from whom Klimt got his start.

The itinerary is also enriched with an important section devoted to the Italian artists who took their inspiration from Klimt, with extraordinary works like Dreaming of Pomegranates (1912-1913) by Felice Casorati, on show again after more than thirty years; the marble and gold sculpture Proud Character – Gentle Spirit (1912) by Adolfo Wildt; and Vittorio Zecchin’s alluring cycle Princesses from a Thousand and One Nights (1914).

The exhibition closes with the reconstruction of the monumental Beethoven Frieze (2019 copy of the 1901 original), providing a highly evocative experience for the visitors.

Klimt. L’uomo, l’artista, il suo mondo is an exhibition promoted by the Municipality of Piacenza and Galleria Ricci Oddi, with the collaboration of the Belvedere, the Klimt Foundation and XNL Piacenza, and with contributions from the Emilia Romagna Region, Fondazione Piacenza e Vigevano, the Piacenza Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria Piacenza, Crédit Agricole, Generali Valore Cultura, Iren, Fornaroli Polymers, and Steriltom

The exhibition is produced and organized by Arthemisia.

The exhibition benefits from the work of a scientific committee, composed of Gabriella Belli, Fernando Mazzocca, Lucia Pini, Elena Pontiggia, Franz Smola, Valerio Terraroli, Alessandra Tiddia, and Sandra Tretter.

Exhibition catalogue published by Skira (contributions by Gabriella Belli, Elisabetta Barisoni, Eva Di Stefano, Lucia Pini, Elena Pontiggia, Franz Smola, Valerio Terraroli, Alessandra Tiddia, Sandra Tretter, and Giuseppe Virelli).

From 12 April to 24 July 2022.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE EXHIBITION TICKETS ONLINE (the online presale provides for a 2 Euro surcharge)

FOR BOOKING “VISIT GROUPS” and GUIDED TOUR INFO: +39 0523 179861

FOR INFORMATION ON EDUCATION FOR SCHOOLS: didattica@arthemisia.it T +39 06 915 110 55

Show ticket office

Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery
Via San Siro 13
29121 Piacenza (PC)

Exhibition venue

XNL Piacenza – Center of contemporary art, cinema, theater and music
via Santa Franca 36
29121 Piacenza (PC)

Timetables
open every day 10.00 – 19.00
The ticket office and the entrance close one hour earlier

Ticket prices and reductions (Click here)

The exhibition ticket also allows entry to the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery. Audio guide included

Information and bookings Tel.: +39 0523 179861
Official hashtag #KlimtPiacenza

Press office

Arthemisia
Salvatore Macaluso | sam@arthemisia.it | Tel. +39 06 69380306