Giandomenico Tiepolo, Carnival scene or Le Menuet (detail), 1754-1755, oil on canvas, 80,5 x 105 cm, Paris, Louvre museum, photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre museum) / Franck Raux

Heir to a centuries-old tradition, the Venetian civilization shines with all its lights at the dawn of the XNUMXth century, in the field of plastic arts as much as in those of decorative arts, music and opera. Thanks to the presence of very great talents, among which, to name a few, the painters Piazzetta and Giambattista Tiepolo, the vedustist Canaletto, the sculptors Corradini and Brustolon, Venice cultivates a singular luxury and aesthetic. Music lives there intensely through the creations of composers like Porpora, Hasse, Vivaldi, served by internationally renowned singers like the castrato Farinelli or the soprano Faustina Bordoni. Within the "Ospedali" orphaned or poor girls receive a thorough musical education and their virtuosity makes them famous throughout Europe. In the city, during Carnival, theater and farce are omnipresent, the passion for games is given free rein to "Ridotto".

The international reputation of Venetian painters and sculptors is such that they are invited by many European patrons. The portrait painter Rosalba Carriera, Pellegrini, Marco and Sebastiano Ricci, Canaletto, Bellotto, travel to England, France, Germany and Austria where they introduce a dynamic and colorful style which takes the form of the rock garden in France, the Rococo in the Germanic countries and contributes to train new generations of creators. The immense masterpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, the vault of the main staircase of the Residence of Wurzburg was executed between 1750 and 1753.

However the political and economic situation of Venice becomes more and more fragile and a breathlessness is felt from 1760 even if the Serenissima remains the privileged destination of the travelers of the great tour which constitutes a regular clientele for the "Vedute" of Canaletto, Marieschi and Francesco Guardi.

Throughout the 1797th century, the myth of Venice, a city unique in its history, its architecture, its way of life, its festive vitality, gradually developed. Great painters still express themselves, in the city itself and on dry land. With Giandomenico Tiepolo and Pietro Longhi, painting gradually tilts towards the pleasant representation of a lively, colorful, sound everyday life, populated by strange masked figures. Carnival is in full swing and Goldoni reproduces in comic form, in his plays the shortcomings and contradictions of contemporary society. However, behind the splendor of public ceremonies, the oligarchic organization of the state and the economy are dangerously sclerotic. The intervention of Napoleon Bonaparte caused the fall of the Republic in XNUMX.

The exhibition is a tribute to this page of artistic history of the Serenissima, in every respect remarkable, by the choice of the most significant paintings, sculptures, drawings and objects as well as by the presence of actors and musicians performing in situ.

A step aside!

Macha Makeieff imagined spaces both for a living narrative of this brilliant Venice but also for a crossing of sensations and astonishment: echoes of music, dance and stage, regular nocturnal meetings for an audience wishing to go up the weather in the lagoon (detailed program to come).

With the complicity of the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris, Gérard Philipe theaters in Saint-Denis and La Criée in Marseille and art schools that lend themselves to the game of happy mixtures.

curator: Catherine Loisel, Honorary General Curator of Heritage
artistic direction: Macha Makeieff

Pratical information

• Operation: Thursday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 20 p.m .; Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 22 p.m. weekly closing on Tuesday
• Adjustable velcro closure at 18 p.m. on Monday 24 and 31 December
• Fees : 14 €, TR 10 € (16-25 years old, job seekers and large family), free for children under 16, beneficiaries of social minima
• access: metro line 1 and 13: "Champs Elysées-Clemenceau" or line 9: "Franklin D. Rossevelt"
• Information and reservations: www.grandpalais.fr