The Genius of Venice

Abstract

The Genius of Venice, 1500–1600, an exhibition held at the Royal Academy, London, from November 2, 1983 to March 11, 1984, organized by John Hale of University College. London, and a group of British art historians (which also included Francesco Valcanover, Soprintendente alle Gallerie, Venice), fulfilled the claim of its sponsor. The Sea Containers Group, to be the most important display of Venetian art outside Italy in fifty years. The sheer number of paintings, more than 140, and their overall high artistic quality and marked diversity of style, subject, and mood, would alone have ensured success. Added to this, the inclusion of more than 40 bronze, marble, and terracotta sculptures, along with about 150 drawings and prints and several manuscripts and maps, made possible a basic comprehension of Venetian artistic and general culture during the cinquecento as a whole.