The Venice Biennale
History of the Venice Biennale
From the beginnings until the Second World War (1893-1945)
1910
On 27th April, futurist poet Marinetti arranged a drop of anti-Biennale leaflets in St Mark's Square. The first names of international repute appeared on show, with one room dedicated to Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, and a retrospective dedicated to Courbet. Fradeletto had a work by Picasso removed from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo, fearing that its novelty might shock the public. The Spanish artist had his first work exhibited at the Biennale only in 1948.
1914
The facade of the Pro Arte Pavilion was restored. With the inauguration of the Russian pavilion, the number of national pavilions in the Giardini other than the Italian Pavilion rose to seven: those of Belgium (1907), Hungary (1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914). Between 1916 and 1918, the Biennale was cancelled because of the First World War.
1920
For the first time, the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale was split: the government commissioner, Nunzio Vitelli, appointed Giovanni Bordiga as president, whilst the new secretary general was Vittorio Pica. This marked the first presence of avant-garde art at the Biennale (Impressionists, Post-impressionists, Die Brücke). These were promoted by Pica, who had been interested in the Impressionists since 1908.
1922
The first retrospective of Modigliani was held, as well as an exhibition of sculpture by African artists. These selections caused some criticism and diffidence, and in order to restrict the "boldness" of Pica, the town council set up an Administrative Board to work alongside him (in part a board of directors, in part a controller of the cultural selections), which initially comprised 7 members (these became 8 in 1924, 13 in 1926 and 9 in 1928; the Board was dissolved in 1930).
1927
Pica found an independent location for the Biennale head office in a ground-floor warehouse of Palazzo Ducale.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
