Giovanni Battista Venturi, the first to study Leonardo after Napoleonic requisitions, in an exhibition in Reggio Emilia

A Reggio Emilia Physicist in Paris. Giovanni Battista Venturi and a New Image of Leonardo da Vinci is the title of the exhibition opening at the Panizzi Library in Reggio Emilia from October 19, 2019 to January 19, 2020.

Set up for the fifth centenary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, the exhibition aims to raise awareness of the figure of Giovanni Battista Venturi from Reggio Emilia (Bibbiano, 1746 - Reggio Emilia, 1822), who was the first to study in Paris, in 1797, Leonardo’s manuscripts requisitioned from Milan by the French; to enhance a little-known section of the Library’s book and iconographic heritage; and finally to propose some keys to understanding Leonardo’s personality and work and his critical fortune in the following centuries.

The itinerary is divided into six sections that, through manuscripts, correspondence, ancient and modern books, engravings and other iconographic material, will attempt to offer visitors a biographical and intellectual profile of Venturi, particularly in his capacity as Leonardo scholar, physicist, historian of science and collector; to illustrate Leonardo’s legacy and image, through manuscript testimonies, printed editions and facsimiles of the works, but also engravings with portraits of theartist, episodes from his life, reproductions from drawings and paintings, false attributions and school works; sample reconstruction of Leonardo’s “ideal library” with the authors and works that helped determine his formation; and finally illustrate his critical fortune in the works, editions and testimonies of Italian and Emilian scholars between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

For all information you can call +39 0522 456084, send an email to panizzi@comune.re.it or visit the official website of the Panizzi Library.

Pictured: Portrait of Giovanni Battista Venturi (1818)

Giovanni Battista Venturi, the first to study Leonardo after Napoleonic requisitions, in an exhibition in Reggio Emilia

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