How would the greats of art history have painted if they had passed through Lerici?

What would art history have been like if the greatest artists of the past had passed through Lerici, the wonderful and romantic village overlooking the Gulf of Poets? Surely, they would have drawn different cues for their art, just as the great poets who named this corner of the Ligurian Sea drew inspiration for their lyrics. Well: there are those who have wondered what form the paintings of the greats of art history would have taken if they had worked under the castle of Lerici.

And the idea of giving substance to that question came to a well-known local artist, illustrator and writer, Beppe Mecconi, until 2013 president of the Board of Directors of the Lerici Castle Museum: in 2010, Mecconi put forward a proposal to the pupils of La Spezia’s Liceo Artistico Cardarelli to reinterpret the works that made art history as if they had been born on the shores of the gulf. So, in 2010, the students of classes V B and V C of the high school set to work, under the supervision of Professor Sonia Carletti Gaggini, and with the support of the then Councillor for Education of the Municipality of Lerici, Alessandra Alessandri, and the Councillor for Culture of the Province of La Spezia, Paola Sisti.

Since then, the works have been on permanent display in the gallery located just below the Lerici castle, with the entrance from the marina promenade. We therefore offer below a selection of the works of the La Spezia youngsters. To see them all, the best way is to go to Lerici, where this revisiting of the great art of the past will welcome you along with the scent of the sea and brackish, near the fishermen’s boat shelters, and in front of one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world!

The castle of Lerici. Credit

Leonardo da Vinci, Preparatory Sketches, 1498 (by Virginia Fontanabona and Elvis Venturini)

Francesco Guardi, “Architectural Capriccio with classical ruins by the sea,” 1770 (by Elvis Venturini)

Caspar David Friedrich, “Wayfarer on the Sea of Fog,” 1818, by Matteo Maggiani

Hokusai, “Under the wave off Lerici,” 1830 (by Beatrice Bianchetti)

Claude Monet, “Path among Poppies,” 1880 (by Daniele Bonini)

Vincent van Gogh, “Starry Night over the Gulf,” 1889 (by Virginia Fontanabona)

Paul Signac, “The Red Buoy,” 1893 (by Chiara Paladina)

Edvard Munch, “The Cry,” 1893 (by Miriam Palladino)

Henri Matisse, “The Dance,” 1909 (by Oxana Molokanova)

Giorgio De Chirico, “The Red Castle,” 1913 (by Giulia Franceschini)

Piet Mondrian, “Composition,” 1921 (by Valentina Baldini)

Roy Lichtenstein, “Whaam!”, 1963 (by Simona Totaro)

Andy Warhol, “The Castle,” 1967 (by Maristella Giannelli)

Keith Haring, Mural of St. Anthony’s Church, 1989 (by Mattia D’Attardi)

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.