Georges de la Tour at the time of Coronavirus

Jacopo Stoppa
The exhibition Georges de La Tour. L'Europa della luce curated by F. Cappelletti and T.C. Salomon, which was held at the Palazzo Reale in Milan and closed at the end of September 2020, has prompted a number of reflections on the painter and on the interpretative model presented at the prestigious Milanese centre. The exhibition, somewhat ambitious as a monographic show, put on display only some of the most well-known paintings by the Lorraine artist and addressed his artistic training without resolving the question of a possible journey to Italy, despite the loan of works which, while considered useful to the context, were in fact not entirely relevant. Aside of this, it also ran into some clumsier misunderstandings, traces of which remain in the catalogue, such as the presentation of an engraving by David Teniers the Younger – ad'après published in Roberto d'Azeglio's volume, La Reale Galleria di Torino, printed in 1836 – as an autograph work by the 17th-century artist. All this amounts to being a missed opportunity as regards our knowledge of the painter, and qualifies the exhibition as one of the many which, relying on the impact of an important name, attempt without too much trouble to promote an event that would have aspired to pull in the crowds had it not been for the Covid 19 pandemic.

Index

Anna Maria Riccomini e Fabrizio Paolucci "In la vale". About Girolamo da Carpi and the Della Valle and Medici sculptures
read abstract » pp. 3-14
Bruna Bianco Saint Peter's chapel in Naples cathedral and the problem of Montano d'Arezzo: proposal for a revision
read abstract » pp. 15-48
Stefano L’Occaso On the tracks of the Dalle Masegne brothers in Mantua: the cathedral façade and the Tomb monument of Margherita Malatesta
read abstract » pp. 49-64
Giulio Dalvit Vecchietta's Arliquiera: programme, function, and context
read abstract » pp. 65-99
Michela Zurla From Genoa to Berlin passing through Florence: Wilhelm Bode, Stefano Bardini and the auction of the Santo Varni collection
read abstract » pp. 100-128
Roberto Bartalini Francesco Salviati in the chapel of the Margrave of Brandenburg in Santa Maria dell'Anima
read abstract » pp. 129-145
Alessandro Angelini The 'Resurrection of Christ' by Guillaume Bonoyseau from Palazzo Ricci Sacchetti in Rome and the French connection for Francesco Salviati
read abstract » pp. 146-158
Agostino Allegri e Giovanni Renzi Cremona on the Danube. First look at a handful of the 16th-century drawings in Bratislava
read abstract » pp. 159-178
Tomaso Montanari A new 'Portrait of a young man' by Gian Lorenzo Bernini the painter
read abstract » pp. 179-182
Jacopo Stoppa Georges de la Tour at the time of Coronavirus
read abstract » pp. 183-188