M.C. Escher in Palazzo Ducale (Genova)
The Doge's Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale) is a historical building in Genoa, northern Italy. Once the home of the Doges of Genoa, it is now a museum and a centre for cultural events and arts exhibitions. It is situated in the heart of the city, with two different entrances and façades, the main one on Piazza Matteotti, and the second one on Piazza De Ferrari.
'Palazzo Ducale here in Genoa is hosting (09Sep2021 - 20Feb22) the largest and most complete anthological exhibition dedicated to the great Dutch genius Maurits Cornelis Escher, today one of the most globally loved artists whose impossible worlds have entered the collective imagination, making him a true icon of the modern art world.
With more than 200 works and his most representative works, such as Hand with Reflecting Sphere (1935), Bond of Union (1956), Metamorphosis II (1939), Day and Night (1938) and the 'Emblemata series', the exhibition presents in 8 sections an excursus of his entire and wide-ranging artistic production.
For the first time in Genoa, the public will be able to experience Escher's imaginative universe through unprecedented immersive rooms and impossible structures that will be compared with works by great visionary artists such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 - 1778) and Victor Vasarely (1906 - 1997).
Between art, science, physics, nature and design, the Escher exhibition is an unique event to get to know more about a restless, reserved but brilliant artist and to actively measure oneself against the many paradoxes of perspective, geometry and composition that lie at the heart of his works and that still continue to inspire generations of new artists in every field.' |
'Promoted and organised by Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura and Arthemisia, in collaboration with the M. C. Escher Foundation, the exhibition is curated by Mark Veldhuysen - M. C. Escher Company's CEO - and Federico Giudiceandrea - one of the world's leading Escher experts.
A visit must be made in compliance with the latest ministerial provisions (DL 105/2021), the access to the museum will be only possible with EU Digital Covid certiticate ('Green Pass') to be shown to the staff at the museum entry.' |
Firenze | San Gimignano | Ravello | Siena | Viareggio | Frascati |
Roma | Vitorchiano | Scanno | Castrovalva |
Tropea | Scilla | Pentedatillo
Rosano Calabro | Morano | Rocca Imperiale | Palermo | Venezia | Catania
There is a quality of Japanese woodblock printing here, in my humble opinion. As in the 'Scilla, Calabria' frame,
fortified palazzo behind a tree, further down.
Escher was born in 1898 in the Netherlands. Beginning in childhood, he suffered from various diseases and underperformed at school, partially due to the illness.
The introverted artist was also constantly troubled by social anxiety. Despite these difficulties, he made many friends, built a family, and found his career path as an artist.
Escher also moved multiple times in his life. He lived in Rome from 1923 to 1935, when he and his family were forced to relocate due to the illness of Escher’s two children and the rising Fascism in Italy.
Afterward, the family spent several years in Switzerland and Belgium, and moved back to the Netherlands in 1941. Before eventually settling down in the Netherlands, Escher also took time for extensive travel in the search of artistic inspiration.
www.illustrationhistory.org/essays/the-hidden-emotions-in-m.c-eschers-artwork |
'Tassellations' explained, Escher's Moorish connection.
'Metamorphoses', where abstract shapes change into animated forms.
'Hands with reflecting sphere' (Escher's self portrait)
'Hands have a history of their own, they have, indeed, their own civilization, their special beauty.' ¬Rilke
The art of M.C. Escher
Getting the hang of my recently acquired Leica M-P (typ 240) w/ Voigtländer
35/2.5 lens (rangefinder focussing)
SHORT HISTORY
'After the Battle of Meloria against the Republic of Pisa and the Battle of Curzola against Venice, both fought at the end of the 13th century, Genoa became the superpower of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the economic leader of the region. Therefore, during those times, the city felt the need for a sumptuous representative palace and, in 1298, the building of the Doge’s Palace begun.
Palazzo Ducale was built around the palace of Alberto Fieschi, with its Torre del Popolo (Tower of the People), which forms the original core of the complex.
The Tower became one of the symbols of political power of Genoa, and the tolls of its bell announced the most solemn and tragic moments of the city. Starting with the 14th century, the Tower of the People became a dungeon for political prisoners, conspirators and anarchists, and remained a prison until the 20th century.
The palace was named Ducale in 1339, when it became the seat of the first Genoese Doge, Simon Boccanegra. Between the 14th and the 15th century, the palace was enlarged with new buildings, and Piazza Matteotti was almost completely enclosed.
In the 16th century, the palace was renovated in Renaissance style by the architect Andrea Ceresola, called Il Vannone. He built a grand entrance hall flanked by two porticoed courtyards, a large stairway that leads to two logge on the piano nobile. Here, we can find the famous Doge’s Chapel, frescoed by Giovanni Battista Carlone in the 17th century, to commemorate personalities such as Guglielmo Embriaco and Cristoforo Colombo.
In 1777, a fire partially destroyed the building, and the palace was rebuilt in Neoclassical style by the Swiss architect Simone Cantoni.
During the 19th and the 20th century, other renovations were made. In 1992, after a complex restoration, the palace was reopened to the public.' |
Palazzo Ducale, which may (or may not) have something to do with the spheres I came across in the city.
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Photos © Ruud Leeuw
