For art lovers – Academy of Fine Arts in Venice
In 1750, the artist Giovanni Piazzetta proposed to create an academy of fine arts in Venice. At that time, the academy was located near St. Mark’s Square, on the second floor of the flour market building. In 1807, by order of the Emperor of France Napoleon I, the academy received new premises and in 1817 the exhibition opened to visitors for the first time.
Initially, the collection was formed to provide students of the academy with an adequate representation of the history of painting. For this purpose, the museum tried to gather works by the greatest Italian masters and representatives of other European schools of painting.
Some paintings were taken from Venice to France during Napoleon’s time. Later, they were managed to be returned, and the paintings enriched the collection. Others were removed from Venetian churches or received as gifts from private individuals.
At the end of the 19th century, it was decided to prioritize the works of Venetian artists. Thanks to this, the gallery collected the largest collection of the Venetian school of painting. Some of the museum’s paintings are unique artifacts from monasteries destroyed during Venice’s subjugation to Napoleon.
The paintings included in the collection, arranged in chronological order, occupy 24 halls. Some of the most famous paintings in the gallery can be found in the first five halls.
The most famous paintings in the Academy Gallery:
“Madonna with Saints,” Giovanni Bellini (hall 2)
“The Tempest,” Giorgione (hall 5)
“The Feast in the House of Levi,” Veronese (hall 10)
“The Transfer of the Body of St. Mark,” Tintoretto (hall 10)
“The Mourning of Christ,” Titian (hall 10)
Paintings by Pietro Longhi (hall 17)
The Miracle of the Holy Cross (hall 20)
The cycle of frescoes “The Life of St. Ursula,” Carpaccio (hall 21)
Getting acquainted with this collection provides a complete understanding of the characteristics of the artistic style of Venetian masters, the secrets of their craft, and, importantly, reveals to us through the canvases of the artists the peculiarities of life in Venice during those distant times.
Open every day except Monday, December 24, January 1, May 1.
