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The modern art gallery in Rome was one of those unexpected surprises. Back in the UK we were constantly threatened that the art scene here is absent. It is true that Rome is known for its Renaissance, Baroque and Classic art, but the city is blossoming with international contemporary art . A traditional place to see modern and contemporary art would be the Galleria Nazionale d Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. the name and the outline of the institution might seem scary(especially after visiting a couple of the grandiose churches and domes). From the outside one could probably expect some heavy walls full of golden decorations and frescoes with some traditional art that could only be called modern because it was done after 1900. Well. the space was the first surprise. the gallery is huge. the tall walls allow the installation of ambitious projects inside the space. The rooms would recall the environment of a white cube space, without implementing a feeling of hygienic coldness and opaque distance. The curation of art pieces was an open dialogue with the public. There was no particular concept repeated in all the rooms tat was, in my opinion, the secret of the success of the whole gallery: the artworks were mixed together inside each room. There was no room exhibiting only sculptures from a certain historical period or certain artist. instead, they were spread and mixed in a perfect harmony. The rooms were never too crowded, nor too heavy or imbalanced. The fact that mediums, artists and practices were fluently intertwined expanded the space and made the gallery attractive for anyone. I honestly don't think there could be anyone walking around the gallery and not finding at least one piece to like in each room. I am still taken aback by the curatorial talent of mixing completely different styles in such a harmonious way, without sacrificing some artists or artworks in favor of others. There is no secret that i quite love Caravaggio. I have rediscovered him as a painter as i was reading "The Story of Art" by Ernst Gombrich. I became more and more interested in his tumultuous life and in his extraordinary modern approach in art . Besides albums and books about him, I have also watched some extraordinary documentaries talking about his innovations in the history of art. And I am not referring to his chiaroscuro, but also his still life painting.
Having seen his paintings numerous times before, in different sizes and printed on different peaces of paper, I was quite excited to come to Rome and actually experience his paintings. It has always been kind of boring and useless to read about the Churches he decorated under Pope X or Pope Y, when everything was so very far away. I knew nothing about those popes nor about those Churches. It was impossible for me to picture an Italian Catholic Church, having been brought up in an orthodox country and then moving to a protestant one. However, I gad always wanted to come here and see what exactly it was all about! I am lucky enough to have a best friend who quite likes Caravaggio as well(I don't know if we are friends and because of that we like Caravaggio or we are friends because we both like Caravaggio). However, with her by my side, I started an exiting adventure: a Caravaggio hunt in Rome. It might not sound so adventurous, but after over km of walking a day you might change your mind! You know when there is a huge festival in town and you die to see who is singing, searching for your idol among the list of names? Well... I do the same, but it s not music, it is visual arts, and it is not contemporary, nope, it goes back a couple of centuries ago. I cannot say that I visited the Barberini Palace for Caravaggio exclusively, however, it was a good reason to go there. After all, come on, it's Caravaggio! One thing our tutors would constantly repeat was not to lose ourselves into the antique world of the Romans and of Rome s a whole. We were constantly repeated how old fashioned Rome is and how remote it is from the contemporary world of Art.
Well... just around the corner from where we live there is this nice place |
AuthorCurious Fine Art student who likes oversharing Categories
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