More than a month ago, on March 21, along with spring, the Year of Venus began at Palazzo Te, which encompasses the exhibition program proposed by the Fondazione Palazzo Te for 2021.
In such a particular and complicated moment as the one we are experiencing, the Foundation wants to emphasize a desire for rebirth and recovery even more, dedicating the numerous activities planned for the coming months to one of the oldest goddesses of Greco-Roman mythology: Venus.
View of Palazzo Te, Mantua
Why Venus
Venus (or Aphrodite) is a figure with many facets: goddess of beauty, vanity, the sea, blooming nature, erotic love, and sublimated love; but also a woman, lover, wife, mother, victim, and executioner. Her myth has been narrated in countless different ways, emphasizing one or another of its meanings. Among these, the Fondazione Palazzo Te has chosen to highlight how the goddess is often associated with harmony and a sense of rebirth. This intention refers both to the completion of a cycle on the feminine that began in 2018 with an exhibition on Titian and Richter and continued with one on Giulio Romano the following year, but also and above all to address the uncertainty of these challenging months, in the hope of soon regaining a sense of “normality.”
The Program
The overall project is named DIVINE VENUS. Harmony on Earth and unfolds in 3 main phases along with numerous satellite events both online and offline – the latter mainly planned for the summer period.
For the first phase, titled The Myth of Venus at Palazzo Te, the focus is entirely on home ground: the protagonists are the over 25 representations of the goddess present in the Palace, among frescoes and stuccos. The path will also be compiled in a paper guide soon available for purchase at the ticket office and on the website, and a new app for Palazzo Te has recently been made available, rich in content about the Palace itself and the Venus program, further supporting visitors who wish to discover the wonders of this building.
This first phase features not only Palazzo Te but also the other great Palace of Mantua, the Ducale, which lends two works for the occasion: the sculpture of Veiled Venus from the collection of the Municipality of Mantova, which belonged to Giulio Romano and inspired the stucco Venus on the ceiling of the Camera del Sole and della Luna of Palazzo Te, and the tapestry depicting Venus, a satyr, and putti playing in a garden, created by the Flemish Nicolas Karcher based on a design and cartoon by Giulio Romano himself.
The Myth of Venus at Palazzo Te also represented the moment to organize an international conference on April 16, focusing on the theme of Venus between nature, shadow, and beauty. This occasion saw various voices from the historical, artistic, and literary panorama exploring different aspects of this prismatic deity, from the classical origins of the myth to its survival in culture, literature, and images up to the early Seventeenth Century. A “summary” version of the 8 presentations that took place during the day will soon be available on the Foundation’s website.
However, given the impossibility of opening the doors of the Palace in this recent period, the Venus program has so far mainly focused online: a series of video content about the entire exhibition program of DIVINE VENUS and its first phase are indeed available on the website and social media pages of the Fondazione Palazzo Te, allowing visitors to get closer to the divine atmosphere that they will experience once they enter the Palace.
The second phase begins on June 22 with the arrival of the work Venus Blindfolding Cupid by Titian, generally housed at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The canvas, one of the most significant representations of the goddess in the Sixteenth Century, will remain at Palazzo Te until September 5, establishing a dialogue with the other depictions of Venus already at the center of the first phase of the program.
The summer season becomes the moment to animate the external areas of Palazzo Te, which will host a series of performative and artistic events involving the entire area of Mantua and its province.
The final moment of the program DIVINE VENUS. Harmony on Earth is set to begin on September 12 with the opening of the exhibition Venus. Nature, Shadow, and Beauty, curated by Claudia Cieri Via. The exhibition will feature various works from Italian and international institutions, outlining a path that aims to explore not only the ancient origins of the myth but also its diffusion in the European courts of the Renaissance. Additionally, a section will be dedicated to the “dangerous” side of Venus and the connection of witches and sorceresses with the cult of the goddess.
