Padua, Civic Museums rely on Philip Rylands, former director of Guggenheim Venice, for enhancement

The Municipality of Padua presented to the press the expert who, over the next two years, will be in charge of relaunching the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, Padua’s main museum: he is Philip Rylands, art historian and former director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, of whose success he is considered the architect. Rylands, who was born in London, graduated in art history from King’s College, Cambrige, and Ph.D. at Cambridge University, is a specialist in Venetian art: in 1988 he published the catalog raisonné of the work of Palma il Vecchia (published by Mondadori and then published in England in 1992 by Cambridge University Press), and is the author of essays on the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim collection, as well as several articles that have appeared in many scholarly journals, including Burlington Magazine. Rylands worked for more than 35 years at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (and was its director for 17 years from 2000), leaving it in June 2017: the Venetian museum credited him with playing a key role in making significant improvements in support of exhibitions and educational projects. Moreover, during Rylands’s time at the helm of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Venetian institution has experienced significant enrichments in its collections. Also significant are the results achieved in terms of visitor numbers: thanks to his leadership, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection can boast of being the most visited museum of modern and contemporary art in Italy.

The project of enhancing the Musei Civici agli Eremitani will go through the rearrangement of the museum’s itinerary: Rylands, during the press conference, said that the museum is already beautiful but needs to be “made more beautiful,” given also the context that hosts it (the institute is in fact located a few steps away from the Scrovegni Chapel and the Arena Gardens, and next to the Eremitani church), and that too many works are currently on display. It will therefore be necessary, according to Rylands, to focus on the quality of the collections rather than quantity. In particular, there will be a focus on enhancing the most important works, the visitor routes will be redesigned, and there will be a major overhaul of the spaces that currently house a vast collection spanning from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Goals, to make the visit more enjoyable, to allow the public a full understanding of the works in their context, and, of course, to increase the number of visitors. Currently, the Scrovegni Chapel is visited by 330,000 people each year, and the idea is to tie museum and chapel more closely together so that more and more visitors to the building that houses Giotto ’s frescoes will also walk through the halls of the Eremitani with the same interest and in depth.

A two-year assignment is planned for the British scholar: Rylands will be in charge of drawing up the scientific project in consultation with the museums’ conservators and working out the economic and financial plan. This phase will be completed by the summer, so during the warm season we can begin to see the first interventions. During the conference, Rylands also pointed out that the former director, Davide Banzato (who recently retired) did an excellent job, and consequently his will not be an easy task.

Pictured: Philip Rylands (ph. Credit Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation)

Padua, Civic Museums rely on Philip Rylands, former director of Guggenheim Venice, for enhancement

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