The Birth of Venus

Under the programme PTM Return, the Tosio Martinengo Art Gallery of Brescia presents the temporary exhibition of The Birth of Venus by Giuseppe Bezzuoli. This project transforms the departures of works on loan in arrivals of new guest works, offering the public the opportunity to reinterpret the permanent collection through new perspectives.

The exhibition, curated by Roberta D'Addais promoted by the Municipality of Brescia, from Brescia Musei Foundation and by Culture Alliance.

The work in question, often mentioned in inventories under the title of Galateawas recently shown at Palazzo Pitti in the exhibition Giuseppe Bezzuoli (1784-1855). A great protagonist of Romantic painting. This painting represents a central element in the artistic and cultural vision of Paolo Tosiofounder of the city's Pinacoteca, and tells a story of patronage that developed between Brescia, Florence and Rome, involving illustrious figures and ideally recalling Raphael.

In 1818, the Count from Brescia Paolo Tosio commissioned Bezzuoli to make a large copy of the School of Athens by Raphael, frescoed in the Vatican Stanze. In October 1819, Bezzuoli informed the Count that the work had been sent, including one of his own original creations, The Birth of Venuswith the intention of introducing his personal style as well as his skills as a copyist. The painting draws inspiration from the Triumph of Galatea by Raphael at the Farnesina, depicting a female figure advancing on a shell, surrounded by tritons and dolphins, under a clear sky animated by putti. The composition is distinguished by a cool light and a brilliant, almost enamelled colour scheme, reflecting the style of French painting of the time and details of refined elegance, such as the coral branch offered to the goddess by a triton.