Genoa, Cavalier Tempesta salon opens at Palazzo Lomellino

In Genoa, from Nov. 1, 2018 to Jan. 6, 2019, the Salotto del Cavalier Tempesta on the first piano nobile of Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino, a historic building on Strada Nuova (today’s Via Garibaldi), opens to the public. The opening comes at the conclusion of a project to enhance the frescoes attributed to Pieter Mulier known as Cavalier Tempesta (Haarlem, 1637 - Milan, 1701), a Dutch artist who was long active in Italy (and also in Genoa), where he specialized in depictions of stormy seas (hence the nickname by which he is known). The frescoes have been rediscovered and restored, and now everyone can see them-this area of Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino, in fact, is not usually accessible. The frescoes depict five Landscapes, enclosed within faux gilded frames embellished with leaf motifs, in imitation of large paintings on canvas inserted within illusionistic quadratures. It is a valuable figurative testimony, as it is unique in the field of landscape painting in the Ligurian capital in the second half of the 17th century.

The work has been attributed to Mulier as it relates to the frescoes depicting Seascapes he painted in Palazzo Colonna in Rome in 1665-1667: the Genoa frescoes demonstrate precisely the deep connection between the cultural context of Rome, where Mulier lived until 1671, and that of Genoa.

In addition, thanks to the collaboration of the Strada Nuova Museums, the frescoes of Palazzo Lomellino are joined by some paintings and drawings from the civic collections, to document the fortunes of a new taste for landscape that, thanks in part to the medium of Tempesta, established itself in Genoa in the second half of the 17th century with the activity of local painters and draftsmen, including the Genoese landscape painter Carlo Antonio Tavella (Milan, 1668 - Genoa, 1738). Active from 1695 to 1701 in Pieter Mulier’s workshop in Milan, Tavella was the author of canvases with a classicist flavor and views on paper of great freshness, as well as frescoes, examples of which remain in the Strada Nuova-Palazzo Rosso Museums themselves.

The opening and enhancement of the Tempest Drawing Room will also allow the discovery of a second drawing room on the First Noble Floor of Palazzo Lomellino. Here, traces of a “marmorino” decoration, datable between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the following century, were recovered at one wall of the room. On the vault the zodiac signs are accompanied by the representation, in the lunettes below, of the twelve months of the year illustrated through human activity.

Organized by the Palazzo Lomellino di Strada Nuova Onlus Association, in collaboration with the Strada Nuova Museums, the project to reopen the salon is curated by Raffaella Besta and Margherita Priarone (Strada Nuova Museums) and Gianluca Zanelli (National Gallery of Liguria at Palazzo Spinola) and boasts the patronage and support of the Region of Liguria, Compagnia di San Paolo and the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa.

Cavalier Tempesta’s Drawing Room will be open to visitors on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (except Dec. 25) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m. From Dec. 31 to Jan. 4, the Palazzo will observe opening hours from 3 to 6 p.m. Tickets (for the Palazzo, including visit to the Drawing Room): full 8 euros, reduced (groups, eligible and students/teachers) 7 euros. Packages: 13 euros for groups (including guided tour), 14 euros individual visit + short guide. The tour of the palace (which includes Bernardo Strozzi’s room, the Secret Garden and the spaces of the former kitchen garden, as well as Cavalier Tempesta’s drawing room) takes about an hour. The “Gavi for Genoa” initiative, promoted by the Consorzio Tutela del Gavi, also continues at Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino: a fundraising project in favor of the evacuees of the Morandi Bridge through the sale of the institutional bottle “Ventanni,” created in 2018 for the anniversary of the DOCG (minimum bid 20 euros). For information call 010 0983860, or email lomellino@studiobc.it.

Pictured: the Cavalier Tempesta drawing room.

Genoa, Cavalier Tempesta salon opens at Palazzo Lomellino

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