Ca’ Rezzonico in the 19th Century: The Dispersal of its Collections and the New Uses of the Palace

Abstract

In the wider phenomenon of the reception and readaptation of aristocratic architectural heritage in post-revolutionary Europe, the repurposing of former aristocratic palaces in Venice after the Fall of the Serenissima in 1797 constitutes a preeminent example. The paper takes as a case study Ca’ Rezzonico, one of the most splendid palaces along the Grand Canal, which has housed, since 1936, the illustrious Museum of 18th-century Venice (Museo del Settecento veneziano). After the Rezzonico family died out in 1810, the palace was gradually stripped of its art historical treasures and has served the most diverse purposes. From being the seat of the Austrian Tobacco Administration to housing dealers’ galleries, from hosting the ateliers of stage designers and international painters to being the home of renowned intellectuals and aesthetes, Ca’ Rezzonico’s rooms and walls have witnessed the profound changes in art, taste, and culture that rang through Europe during the long 19th century. The paper offers a comprehensive recon struction of the palace’s 19th-century history, drawing from both published and unpublished sources.