Francesco Guardi at Correr Museum

• LOCATION: Correr Museum

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From now until February 17th 2013, the Correr Museum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the work of Francesco Guardi. The show provides a complete overview of the various phases of Guardi’s eclectic artistic output, from his early figurative works through the famous interiors to the evocative views of Venice and the whimsical fantasies of his middle and later years. A collection of over seventy paintings and about fifty drawings demonstrate the intimate, understated character of this work: characteristic of an artist who only history has recognized as one main exponents of 18th century Venetian art. Indeed, after his death in Venice in 1793, Francesco Guardi sank into oblivion. It was only thanks to a famous exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in 1965, that he came to be re-evaluated and appreciated by both critics and the viewing public. The exhibition opens with two paintings portraying the artist himself: one by Giuseppe Bertini shows Guardi selling his paintings in St. Mark’s Square; the other is by Pietro Longhi. They indicate the lack of information and documentation that survives in relation to an artist who certainly did not enjoy during his lifetime the fame that he has achieved today. This extraordinary exhibition includes a unique selection of works from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including the Brera Art Gallery, London’s National Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York: six of which are being shown in Italy for the first time.