From Foppa to Fattori, Stramezzi collection goes on display in Crema

The Museo Civico di Crema e del Cremasco hosts, from April 23 to May 15, 2022, the exhibition Foppa, the Macchiaioli and the Art of the Twentieth Century. Works from the Stramezzi Collection: curated by Alessandro Barbieri and Francesca Moruzzi, it is produced by the Museo di Crema and constitutes the moment of presentation of the extraordinary paintings acquired by the city’s cultural institution at the end of 2021 thanks to the generosity of the Heirs of Marina Stramezzi and the support of Fondazione Comunitaria della Provincia di Cremona and Associazione Popolare Crema per il territorio Banco BPM. The exhibition focuses on about sixty works from Paolo Stramezzi ’s collection kept at Villa La Perletta in Crema.

Paolo Stramezzi (Moscazzano, 1884 - Cannes, 1968) established at his mansion one of the most influential and prominent cultural salons in northern Italy, furnishing its walls with such a large number of works of art that they could compete with the most prestigious national museums. He was a fine art lover and connoisseur, patron and great collector. At the basis of his substantial collection lie years of dense relationships woven with artists, antiquarians and art experts from whom Stramezzi always knew how to take good advice. His was a living, dynamic and ever-evolving collection, ordered and enriched for more than half a century with purchases, sales, exchanges and exchanges. A private collection selected following his own personal taste that also anticipated certain stylistic and collecting evolutions in Italian art, such as the strong interest in the Macchiaioli of whom Stramezzi was a major collector.

The exhibition is designed in three sections: a tribute to the collector, works between the 15th and 19th centuries, and the part devoted to 20th-century painting. Two large portraits placed in polite dialogue will welcome the visitor: the Portrait of Giuseppe Maria Perletti by the Cremasque painter Angelo Bacchetta (Crema, 1841 - 1920) and the Portrait of Paolo Stramezzi by the Bergamo painter Luigi Brignoli (Palosco, 1881 - Bergamo, 1952). The former is credited with the conception of the large villa surrounded by a splendid park: La Perletta. To the second the having restored and set up this mansion with a collection so extraordinary that it takes on almost legendary traits.

In the second section, the exhibition itinerary, following a chronological order, kicks off with the refined Annunciation with Penitent Saint Jerome attributed to the Lombard Renaissance father Vincenzo Foppa (Brescia, 1427/30 - 1515/16). This is a highly evocative panel, as is the copy of Leonardo da Vinci ’s well-known panel depicting St. Anne, the Virgin and Child with the Little Lamb (St. Anne Metterza) now in the Louvre Museum. This is followed by a group of five Flemish works whose execution is placed between the 16th and 17th centuries: among them are two portraits by David Teniers the Younger (Antwerp, 1610 - Brussels, 1690) and a Bucolic Scene by Nicolaes Berchem (Haarlem, 1620 - Amsterdam, 1683). The foundational core of the second section belongs to the 19th century, the collector’s favorite period. Notable among the works on display are undoubtedly a View of Florence, believed to be an unfinished work by Englishman Joseph Mallord William Turner (London, 1775 - Chelsea, 1851), and no less than nine paintings belonging to the beloved Macchiaioli. Of these we find two works by Giovanni Fattori (Livorno, 1825 - Florence 1908), the major exponent of this movement, one by Giuseppe Abbati (Naples, 1836 - Florence, 1868) and six by Raffaello Sernesi (Florence, 1838 - Bolzano, 1866), the youngest of the group. Closing the 19th century is a Self-Portrait with Daughter Marion by Bavarian Franz von Lenbach (Schrobenhausen, 1836 - Munich, 1904), a highly regarded portraitist of famous personalities of his time. Flanking the latter work are two curious sketches: these are preparatory drawings by Eugenio Giuseppe Conti of Crema (Crema, 1842 - Milan, 1909), executed as a study for the decoration of the vaults of some side chapels of the church of San Giacomo Maggiore in Crema.

The third section of the exhibition devoted to the twentieth century features numerous paintings by painters whom Paolo Stramezzi had the opportunity to get to know, appreciate and purchase as a frequent visitor to the most famous national art exhibitions and reviews: the Venice Biennale, the Brera Biennale, the Permanente in Milan and the Quadriennale in Rome. As examples among the works by Italian artists, Campagna veneta by Francesco Sartorelli (Cornuda, 1856 - Udine, 1939); Self-portrait by Arturo Rietti (Trieste, 1863 - Fontaniva, 1943); Portrait of a Little Girl by Maria Vinca (Milan, 1878 - Venice, 1939); Portrait of Mr. Obert and Portrait of a Woman by Guido Tallone (Bergamo, 1894 - Alpignano, 1967) will be exhibited; Portrait of a Young Woman by Giovanni Brancaccio (Pozzuoli, 1903 - Naples 1975); Uliveto and Paris by Giovanni Malesci (Vicchio, 1884 - Milan, 1969); a drawing by Giacomo Manzù (Bergamo, 1908 - Aprilia, 1991) depicting a Crucifixion with Pope John XXIII. While among the foreigners: Lagoon with Santa Maria della Salute by Georg Sauter (Markt Rettenbach, 1866 - Brannenburg, 1937); Breton tavern by Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (Barcelona, 1872 - Pollença, 1959); Landscape by Orazì (Paris, 1906 - 1979). The exhibition ends with Il Serio by the Cremasque artist Gianetto Biondini (Crema, 1920 - 1981) and three drawings by the same author that, depicting three different perspectives of Villa La Perletta, close the thematic circle of the exhibition.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog, edited by Alessandro Barbieri and Francesca Moruzzi, produced by Edizioni Museo Civico Crema. In it, some texts dedicated to the history of the collection and of the collector Paolo Stramezzi introduce a presentation of the works on display: a catalog that, in this first phase of study, provides the essential coordinates to leave any in-depth scientific study to the future. Where possible, by cross-referencing the information obtained from the reading of inscriptions and tags found on the works themselves with the information deduced from the lists of the collection compiled by Paolo Stramezzi himself (Fondo Paolo Stramezzi), an attempt has been made to delve into the collecting history of the paintings, augmenting the indications with data on the provenance and past exhibitions of the works.

The exhibition opens Tuesdays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon and 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to noon and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. For information visit www.culturacrema.it.

Image: William Turner (attributed), View of Florence (c. 1828; oil on canvas, 60.5 x 91 cm)

From Foppa to Fattori, Stramezzi collection goes on display in Crema

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