La Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta, discloses the three works by Venetian painter Jacopo Robusti also knows as Tintoretto (1518–1594) which will be part of the 54th International Art Exhibition – ILLUMInations, directed by Bice Curiger (Venice, Arsenale and Giardini, June 4th – November 27th, 2011).

 

The three large canvases, which the board of Venetian Museums lent la Biennale di Venezia, will be exhibited at the Central Pavilion in the Giardini.

They are:

  · the Last Supper (from San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica)

  · the Stealing of the Dead Body of St. Mark  and the Creation of the Animals (both housed in the Gallerie dell’Accademia).

Tintoretto painted the Stealing of the Dead Body of St. Mark for the chapter house of the Scuola Grande di San Marco between 1562 and 1566. The Creation of the Animals was painted between 1551 e and 1552 for the Albergo of the Scuola della Trinità as part of a cycle portraying stories from the book of Genesis. Lastly, the large canvas depicting the Last Supper was painted for San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica: it is one of the later and most significant works by Tintoretto.

Bice Curiger stated: “These paintings by Tintoretto, one of the most experimental artists in the history of Italian art, exert a special appeal today with their almost febrile, ecstatic lighting and a near reckless approach to composition that overturns the well-defined, classical order of the Renaissance. The works will play a prominent role in establishing an artistic, historical and emotional relationship to the local context.”

 

President Paolo Baratta would like to thank the Board of Venetian Museums and show the greatest respect to abbot Norberto Villa, Benedictine father of San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica: “I recall the extraordinary meeting when I introduced myself to ask for permission to obtain the Last Supper for the ILLUMInations Exhibition. He let me speak for fifteen minutes and then said: “Enough, I understand very well. Illumination is what we are looking for everyday.”

“The presence of this Tintoretto at the entrance of the Exhibition – Baratta cautions – is not at all obvious. His works will be there as a warning to living artists to not indulge in conventions!”

The Biennale will take charge of the extraordinary preservation of the paintings, as will be the case for the other three canvases portraying the Stories of St. Mark, housed at the Gallerie dell’Accademia and which will not be borrowed. The preservation will allow the works’ full appreciation, once the cycle will be reassembled at the end of the Exhibition, and it will contribute to a better presentation of the Stories for the opening of the renovated Gallerie dell’Accademia.

 

The International Jury of the 54th International Art Exhibition has also been appointed. The members are:

  Hassan Khan (Egypt), president of the jury, visual artist and experimental musician, lives and works in Cairo.

  Carol Yinghua Lu (China), independent curator and art critic, contributes to several international magazines such as Frieze, Contemporary and e-flux.

  Letizia Ragaglia (Italy), specialized in museology and contemporary art, director of the Museion, Museo of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano.

  Christine Macel (France), writer, art critic, has been curator at Centre Pompidou, Paris since 2000.

  John Waters (USA), filmmaker, actor, writer, artist and art collector.

 

President Baratta and the Biennale board congratulated Bice Curiger on her choice of jury members, with manifold and articulate backgrounds, skills and areas of expertise.

 

The jury will award the following official prizes: Golden Lion for the best National Participation; Golden Lion for the best artist at the ILLUMInations Exhibition; Silver Lion for a promising young artist at the ILLUMInations Exhibition.

There will be 37 Collateral Events organized by international institutions that will be setting up their exhibitions and projects in several venues around the city in conjunction with the Biennale. The Collateral Events offer a wide range of contributions and participations, originally and significantly enriching the schedule of the 54th Exhibition.

 

The award ceremony, which will also comprise the opening ceremony, will take place on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at noon in the Giardini della Biennale. The opening to the public on the same day at 10 AM is also confirmed. President Paolo Baratta observes: “We thought that an exclusive opening ceremony only for the attendants of the preview, behind closed doors, was a little outdated.”