Shanghai: Caravaggio and the Italian Baroque on show

In collaboration with the Shanghai Museum of Art Pudong, the Italian Cultural Institute of Shanghai and the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai are proposing the exhibition "Caravaggio. Wonders of the Italian Baroque", organised with Galleria Borghese in Rome.

The exhibition, hosted by the Shanghai Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) and running from 12 December 2023 to 12 April 2024, introduces visitors to the world of Baroque wonders, a rich page in the history of Italian art. Baroque developed in the 17th century, a time of great historical changes that profoundly marked the conception of man. A new art style was born, which looked at nature with renewed curiosity and a new awareness of the deceptions into which the human senses could fall.

The exhibition aims at astonishing and amazing, and the Baroque music that accompanies the exhibition creates a unique and engaging atmosphere. The itinerary through the works of the greatest exponents of the art workshops of the period - the Roman, Emilian, Neapolitan, Veneto-Lombard and Tuscan-Marchigiana Schools - enables visitors to immerse themselves in the context and painting techniques of this artistic period.

The highlight of this journey is the world of Caravaggio, the inspirational genius of the Baroque, known for his revolutionary painting technique and masterful use of chiaroscuro. Six of Caravaggio's masterpieces are on display in the exhibition, including the Boy with a Basket of Fruit and Saint John the Baptist from the Borghese Gallery, from which no less than 57 paintings from different schools and painters are on display. The other paintings from the Uffizi Galleries, Galleria d'Arte Antica Barberini-Corsini, Banco Popolare di Vicenza-Intesa San Paolo and a private collection are also on display for the first time in China.