AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2011
FED:Raphael, Botticelli to call Australia home
By Andrea Hayward
CANBERRA, Aug 30 AAP - Rare Italian Renaissance paintings by the likes of Raphael and
Botticelli will leave Europe for the first time later this year and call Australia home
for a while.
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has secured some of Italy's most prized paintings
for its major summer exhibition, Renaissance - 15th and 16th Century Italian Paintings
from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, near Milan.
NGA director Ron Radford said when he heard the Accademia Carrara was closing for renovations
he penned a letter three years ago to see if the gallery could exhibit the treasured pieces
from the Italian collection, which have never been seen in Australia before.
When he landed on their doorstop to make a formal request Dr Radford said he knew he
meant business.
"There was a reluctance at first because at the Accademia Carrara, it's quite an academic
institution known by scholars but not by the public," Dr Radford said.
"They have never lent so many Renaissance works outside of Europe to a country so far away.
"These are national treasures and we are very, very grateful to the Italian government."
Arts Minister Simon Crean said the federal government proudly supported the first 15th
and 16th century exhibition to be seen in Australia after years of planning and negotiation.
"This is another fantastic coup by the NGA," Mr Crean said in Canberra.
The exhibition would give Australians an opportunity to seen works of art rarely seen
outside of Europe, Mr Crean said.
More than 70 paintings, including works by Raphael, Botticelli and Bellini, will line
the NGA next to works by less well known painters including Tura, Crivelli, Lotto, Vivarini,
Carpaccio, Perugino and Moroni.
The works are barely represented in Australian collections and while most Australians
knew the names of the artists many had not seen their works, Dr Radford said.
Co-ordinating curator Christine Dixon said in terms of quality and excitement the pieces
were not like anything seen before in Australia.
"Not every artist of the Renaissance is a household name but you don't get any bigger
than Raphael," Ms Dixon told AAP.
The exhibition would give Australians a chance to see for themselves the sheer beauty
of Bellini's work, Ms Dixon said.
The Renaissance was known for many cultural and scientific advances but importantly
the change in technology from the use of tempera as a medium on wooden panels to the use
of oil paints on canvas.
Ms Dixon said Bellini became the great master of oil painting, employing a totally
different technique during the Renaissance.
The exhibition will open on December 9 and run until April 9, 2012.
The exhibition will be ticketed to avoid queues, with tickets on sale from September
2.
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KEYWORD: RENAISSANCE PIX AVAILABLE
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