Paraphrasing a much higher authority one could say that the avenues to connect Napoli to the Bay Area, www.unitethetwobays.com –travel through unpredictable ways.
The dream of many Italians, Neapolitans in the specific, of one day to see some pieces from the Museo di Capodimonte’s Collection on exhibit in Northern California came true this week with the arrival of Botticelli’s Madonna col Bambino from the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte. On loan to the Palace of the Legion of Honor of San Francisco for Truth and Beauty: The Pre-Raphaelites and the Old Masters an encyclopedic retrospective of the Pre-Raphaelites PAINTERS curated by the erudite and captivating Melissa Buron, Botticelli’s Madonna will be on exposition until September 30.
Arrived under heavy guard nighttime to the Legion of Honor accompanied by Capodimonte’s Curator Antonio Tosini the Madonna on the opening of the case appeared to have been a bit proven by the travel. The case had been somewhat ruffled affecting both the composure and the patience of the painting, which led it to react unhappily puffing some of its discontents onto the case’s glass. An event this of the puffing, which immediately mobilized a small army of experts of frame, case, pigment, paper, wood and you name it, who immediately returned the Madonna to her usual splendor and composure as one can see from these photos
What to say about the exhibit? Magnificent for the breadth of the work of art, manuscripts and other objects spanning the experience of the Brotherhood of the Pre-Raphaelites, and probably one would have had to travel hundreds of thousands of mile to see up close all the paintings and the other works of art on exhibit at the Place of Honor. Monumental the presence of masterpieces like van Eyck’s Annunciation, Millais’ Mariana which side to side reflect each other vertical escape prospective and the royal purple apotheosis but for that kind of commentary Mellissa Buron—whose catalog should be available for purchase at the Palace’s site–does a much better work that I would ever do. It may serve to compel the visitor to reflect about today’s global debate on human migration and racial relations the presence of a Perugino’s Nativity which depicting some ethnic characters in one of the four tables of the politico attests to the fact that people were mixing already in 1500, and that is a record that can be “fakepainted”.
After two years of intense activity, and after having launched several projects directed at strengthening economic and cultural relations between Napoli (and the Regione Campania) and the the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, last month Unite the Two Bays was recognized by the State of California with a forward-looking commendation from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Needless to say we are not only proud of this commendation , which rewards our work and recognizes our partners and sponsor, but also encouraged–now more than ever–to hold fast to our idea of strengthening the ties that bind this two poles of transoceanic innovation.
