Spring Newsletter 2024
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Filippino Lippi (Prato, ca. 1457 – Florence, 1504), Annunciation with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Andrew, ca. 1470-75
Tempera on panel. inv. Q 42. Restored in 2023.
Word from the AFC President
There is much anticipation surrounding the Battle of Pavia 500th anniversary exhibition, Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries, which will be touring the United States beginning in June. Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum is the first venue.
In this issue we will hear from filmmakers Gia Marie Amella and Beppe Mangione about the three films they created for the exhibition. Checkout the clip including Renaissance tapestries scholar Thomas Campbell.
“The opportunity to view [these tapestries] is unprecedented and not to be missed.”
We will be visiting Campbell’s museum in San Francisco for the AFC Trip October 17-October 20, 2024. There are still spaces available for this unique long weekend experience that includes attending the exclusive opening and a private tour of the exhibition with Campbell. We will also be honoring Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger. For more information about the trip: visit our website. A $500 nonrefundable contribution to AFC is tax deductible and reserves your spot.
Director Sylvain Bellenger’s historic tenure at Capodimonte came to a close in November, 2023. Eike Schmidt, the former director of Florence’s famed Uffizi Gallery, was appointed as Sylvain’s successor and took the reins in January, 2024. Dir. Schmidt is now running for Mayor of Florence. His directorship at Capodimonte will remain suspended until the outcome of the election in June, 2024. In the meantime, Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums in Italy, will oversee Capodimonte’s administration. Rest assured that our intrepid AFC Fellow, Emma de Jong, continues to make huge progress.
Our AFC Fellow reports on Ottocento Napoli, an exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, featuring 19th-century objects from Capodimonte’s collection. The exhibition is curated by none other than Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger.
In other news, Naples in Paris, which opened at the Louvre last June and closed in January is now open in Turin under the title Capodimonte da Reggia a Museo.
Thank you for your continued support and we hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about the fact that one of Italy’s most culturally significant treasures is coming to the United States for a year. Subscribe to our trip to San Francisco for exclusive access to the exhibition and learn about the battle in 1525 that changed the course of history.
Yours sincerely,
Cristina Del Sesto, AFC Board President
“And That's a Wrap!”
by Gia Marie Amella, Writer, Producer, Director at Modio Media USA
and Beppe Mangione, Camera, Sound Designer, Editor at Modio Media USA
Click on the image above to play a clip of ‘Battle of Pavia Tapestries: A Masterpiece of Messaging’. This film is commissioned by The Museum Box, filmed and edited by Modio Media. This clip features Thomas P. Campbell, Director & CEO Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Cecilia Paredes, Brussels University, Brussels Regional Public Service Urbanism and Heritage; and Carmine Romano, Curator, Head of Digitization & Digital Catalogue, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte.
In spring 2022, the AFC contacted us about creating a series of short films for the Museo di Capodimonte as part of the 2024/25 U.S. touring exhibition comprising selected armor and firearms from the Farnese collection and the majestic Battle of Pavia tapestries. The unprecedented exhibition commemorating the battle’s 500th anniversary is just one of the countless initiatives spearheaded by Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger.
Click on the image above to play the exhibition trailer
Modio Media kicked off principal photography in August 2022 and delivered the final films in April 2024. We interviewed Sylvain Bellenger, a number of Capidomonte’s staff, including Carmine Romano, Sara Vitulli, and Antonio Tosini; Siena-based textile conservator Graziella Palei; Cecilia Paredes from Brussels University; and Thomas Campbell, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and an authority on Renaissance tapestry. Together, their voices tell a historically complex story of chivalry and heroism, long before the idea of “Europe” came into being.
Gia and Beppe filming the restauration of the tapestries at Capodimonte
The first in the trilogy, The Battle of Pavia: The Beginning of Modern Europe, traces the battle's history and how warfare evolved over time. The second, Battle of Pavia Tapestries: A Masterpiece of Messaging looks at tapestry production in Brussels in the early 16th century and features a segment with Campbell on how to interpret a tapestry. The third and final film Armor, Dress & Heroes spotlights selected armor and how costumery and historical figures are represented in the tapestries. When viewed back-to-back, the three films create a nuanced portrait intended to entertain and educate audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
As filmmakers, it was an absolute pleasure to film surrounded by great works of art and the professionals who care for these treasures. We're most grateful to the AFC Board and AFC Postdoctoral Fellows Caroline Paganussi and Emma C. de Jong as well as The Museum Box. And, lastly, to our fantastic DoP Matteo Castelli for his beautiful camerawork.
The exhibition is organized by the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte and The Museum Box in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
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“You Could Say They Are the Sistine Chapel of Tapestries”
By Carmine Romano, Curator, Head of Digitization & Digital Catalogue, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte
During the Renaissance, monarchs and religious leaders glorified their power and wealth through the art of tapestry, commissioning some of Europe’s greatest artists to commemorate significant events through the costly medium. Seven lavish tapestries depict the 1525 Battle of Pavia, commemorating Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s decisive victory over French King François Francis I, which was a pivotal point in the Italian Wars almost five hundred years ago. The tapestries are monumental in scale—each measuring about twenty-eight feet wide and fourteen feet high—drawing viewers into the world of Renaissance history, military technology, and fashion.
They are some of the most awe-inspiring examples of this often-overlooked yet highly prized Renaissance artform. They required remarkable feats of collaboration between artists and weavers—a single panel could take more than a year to produce. Designed by court artist Bernard van Orley, the tapestries were woven in Brussels by Willem and Jan Dermoyen in deeply saturated hues and exquisite detail, luxuriously highlighted with gold and silver thread. Each composition is filled with richly adorned military leaders, horsemen, and mercenary foot soldiers armed with swords, pikes, and firearms, all inhabiting a stunning panoramic landscape, from the walled park of the battleground to undulating hills in the distance.
Enhancing the visitor’s understanding and enjoyment of the woven depictions of battle, the exhibition will include a selection of arms and armor from Capodimonte’s renowned Farnese Armory. Among the most elegant objects on view will be a splendid helmet and rotella shield with episodes from Roman history, Pompeo della Cesa’s elegant “Volat” armor garniture, an exquisite arquebus made for Ranuccio Farnese by Giovanni Battista Visconti, and a variety of ornately detailed swords and firearms.
AFC Fellow reports: Napoli Ottocento
By Emma C. de Jong, ACF Curatorial Fellow, 2023-2025
Emma with Capodimonte’s Director Emeritus, Sylvain Bellenger.
Together with AFC board member Francis Prins, I was invited to attend the opening of the exhibition Napoli Ottocento at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. Curated by former Capodimonte director Sylvain Bellenger and Capodimonte’s Carmine Romano, this show puts Naples’ long 19th century back into the spotlight. It includes many works from the Capodimonte Museum, as well as other Neapolitan and international collections.
Although Naples was not nominated as the capital city after the completion of Italy’s unification in 1870, nor was their king chosen to be the new head of state, Naples became the cultural trendsetter within the newly established kingdom. Local artists, including Giuseppe De Nittis, Domenico Morelli, Ercole and Giacinto Gigante, made innovations in genres such as landscape painting and scenes of daily life. This attracted foreign artists, including William Turner, John Singer Sargent, and Edgar Degas, who traveled to the city in search of inspiration. Degas portrait of Thérèse De Gas (c. 1863), which shows a view of Naples through an open window, forms one of the center points of the show and features on the exhibition’s promotional materials.
Spanning works from the tail end of the Grand Tour up to the start of the first World War, this exhibition comes highly recommended by Francis and myself to those interested in gaining a new perspective on the ancient city on the bay.
Emma and Francis at the opening.
Ottocento Napoli is on view at the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome. Open everyday 10am - 8pm until June 16.
The AFC Recommends: Reggia di Venaria, Turin
Exhibition of Capodimonte masterpieces, previously on view at the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Open Tuesday - Sunday until September 15.
The AFC Serves One of Europe’s Greatest Museums
The American Friends of Capodimonte (AFC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build awareness in the English-speaking world of one of Europe’s greatest museums. Thanks to our Capodimonte Fellowships, we are the first and only American organization to place talented, young American art historians directly inside an Italian museum. Our members and donors enjoy private tours, events, and dinners in the Museum and Royal Park. When works from the Capodimonte collection travel to America, we invite all who contribute to join us for events and exhibitions. For more information on the AFC, check out our website: https://www.americanfriendsofcapodimonte.info/
The Museo di Capodimonte remains open during renovations! For the most up to date opening times, check: https://capodimonte.cultura.gov.it/useful-information/. Full price entry is € 15, free entry for under 18. Free entry on the first Sunday of the month.
The museum can easily be reached by taxi and when departing from the city center by bus lines 3M, 168, 178, 204, C63. Address: Via Miano 2, 80131 Napoli NA.