Baroque Art from the Holy Sepulchre

ART
Baroque Art from the Holy
Sepulchre
11 April - 1 June 2014 at Galleria Canesso Lugano, Lugano
Francesco De Mura and assistants, The Lamentation, oil on canvas, 127 × 180 cm, 50 × 70 3⁄4 in. Ain Karem, Museum of
the Franciscan Convent of Saint John the Baptist
The Canesso Gallery in Lugano pays tribute to Jerusalem with an exclusive and unique
exhibition, Baroque Art from the Holy Sepulchre. The Image of Jerusalem in the Pre-Alps.
This is part of a grand project under the aegis of the City of Lugano, devised and promoted by
Maurizio Canesso, here acting as patron. The heart of the event lies in a group of emblematic
works of art belonging to the great legacy in the care of the Franciscan Custody in the Holy
Land. They are in Lugano thanks to the research, rediscovery and conservation carried out by
a dedicated team of scholars and restorers, and entirely sponsored by the owner of the
Gallery.
The outcome was based on the complete trust put in him by the Custody, and this led to the
great privilege of being able to display six magnificent works – five paintings and a silver relief
– two of which come directly from the Holy Sepulchre and have never been seen in the
Western world. In addition to the exceptional provenance of the works, the event is enhanced
by a direct connection with the Pre-Alps: indeed Lugano owns a rare pictorial document, a
pair of views of Jerusalem frescoed in about 1530 in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli.
These illustrate the cultural role of the Franciscan Order and a point of contact between
Europe and the Holy Land, further expressed by the friars’ presence at the foot of the Alps in
the devotional complexes of the Sacri Monti.
The varied subject-matter of the event, with the Canesso Gallery extending the exhibition
beyond its own venue, has been the subject of widespread interest, leading to peripheral
external activities and a thematic itinerary. The visitor will start from the Church of Santa
Maria degli Angioli, which houses the two erudite painted maps; the path continues along Via
Nassa to the heart of the exhibition, with the works hosted at the Canesso Gallery. Right next
door, in the Patio of the Municipio, a series of large-scale photographs of contemporary
Jerusalem and its relationship with its past as described in the painted lunettes of the church.
Continuing the photographic theme, the Museo Cantonale d’Arte (Cantonal Museum of Art)
will host a separate independently-organised exhibition, Jerusalem photographed. Images
from the archive of the École biblique et archéologique française in Jerusalem. 1870 - 1935,
designed to give resonance to the other events.
This intensely collaborative event will be presented to the press, and seeks to create a sense of
cultural synergy alongside a significant exhibition of work by Jean Arp and Osvaldo Licini,
which will run during the same period in the city’s other art museum, the Museo d’Arte di
Lugano.
Galleria Canesso Lugano Piazza Riforma, 2 Lugano 6900 Switzerland Ph. +41 91 6828980
[email protected] www.galleriacanesso.ch
Opening hours Tuesday - Sunday From 10am to 5pm
Related images
April 15, 2014
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Related images
1 & 3 Lunetta Gerusalemme 2 Francesco De Mura, The Raising of the Cross, oil on canvas, 127
× 180 cm, 50 × 70 ľ in. Jerusalem, Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Chapel of Saint Helena 4
Francesco De Mura, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, oil on canvas, 127 × 180 cm, 50 × 70
ľ in. Ain Karem, Museum of the Franciscan Convent of Saint John the Baptist 5 Paolo De
Matteis, The Resurrection, oil on canvas, 151.5 × 142 cm, 59 ̋ × 55 ľ in., Basilica of the Holy
Sepulchre, Rotunda of the Anastasis, Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre., Works exhibited at the
Canesso Gallery, Lugano: Baroque Art 6 Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds,
Adoration of the Shepherds, oil on canvas, 127 × 148 cm, 50 × 58 Ľ in. Bethlehem, Church of
Saint Catherine ad Nativitate
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