L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 4 T his year's Bien- nale di Venezia, which lasts until t h e m o n t h o f November, shows a n i m p r e s s i v e l i n e u p o f diverse and dynamic women artists, reflecting a profound acknowledgment of the piv- otal roles women have played in shaping the art world. C u r a t e d b y A d r i a n o Pedrosa under the theme Stranieri Ovunque, Foreign- ers Everywhere, la Biennale emphasizes inclusivity and the breaking of conventional boundaries, characteristics that, throughout the history of art, have belonged to many a woman artist. And this is why, perhaps, the presence of s o m a n y r e l e v a n t f e m a l e a r t i s t s a t V e n e z i a ' s m o s t emblematic fine arts event strikes: they represent, so to speak, the 21st-century point of arrival in a journey which was started centuries ago by courageous, talented, and often defiant women artists who, with even more difficul- ties than their contemporary counterparts, managed to be recognized in a field notori- ously male-oriented and dom- inated. R o s a l b a C a r r i e r a , a Venetian artist from the 18th century, was one of them. She revolutionized portrait paint- ing with her innovative pastel techniques, and her pioneer- i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n s n o t only enhanced the prestige of pastel art but also paved the way for future generations of women artists. Though Carriera's work is not featured at the Biennale her legacy of breaking bound- aries is powerfully present in the works of notable artists, l i k e J u l i e M e h r e t u , a n Ethiopian-born American artist known for her large- scale abstract paintings, or Zanele Muholi , a South African visual activist focus- ing on the LGBTQI+ commu- nity. Then, we have Dana Awartani, a Saudi-Palestin- ian artist exploring traditional Islamic art forms in contem- porary contexts; Sol Calero, a Venezuelan artist whose vibrant installations explore Latin American identity and culture, without forgetting Claudia Andujar, a Swiss- Brazilian photographer and activist known for her work with the Yanomami people of the Amazon. The world of art, today, is free and genderless, but it wouldn't be, at least not for women artists, without the trailblazing careers of inno- vators like Rosalba, whose m e s s a g e o f f r e e d o m a n d equality through art keeps on shining high today. Back in the 18th century, R o s a l b a w a s a s t a r , b u t reaching such a status hadn't been easy. European aristo- c r a t s o n t h e G r a n d T o u r w h o a r r i v e d i n t h e seductive Venice to enjoy the delights of Opera and indulge in the sensual pleasures ― guaranteed in eighteenth- century La Serenissima! ― w o u l d s t o p o n t h e C a n a l Grande at Rosalba Carri- era's home atelier for a por- trait session. Intellectuals, politicians and diplomats from any cor- ner of the old world would i m m o r t a l i z e t h e m s e l v e s through Rosalba Carriera's painting, which satisfied their vanity and increased their dynamic social network. Those faces starched with rice powder ―and maybe even poisoned with lead― exuded a mysterious charm. We admire them in those pastel paintings preserved in several European and Ameri- can museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery in London. An intriguing art exhibi- t i o n a t C à R e z z o n i c o , Venice, tells the story of Car- riera. The show's primary focus is Carrera's graceful miniature work, which is rarely displayed. Titled Ros- alba Carriera - Minia- ture su Avorio, it marks the 350th anniversary of Car- riera's birth. A g r o u p o f p r i v a t e l y owned miniatures and some other exquisite items belong- i n g t o t h e F o n d a z i o n e M u s e i C i v i c i d i Venezia collections are on display for the first time at Cà Rezzonico. A group of ivory s n u f f b o x e s o f v a r i o u s shapes― elliptical, square, a n d o v a l― c a m e f r o m t h e Correr Museum. It is a typi- cally Venetian production, appreciated for its rich deco- ration. "Venice was one of the ter- minals for the supply of ivory from Europe to Africa and Asia," explains art historian Alberto Craievich, Director of Cà Rezzonico Museum of Venetian Settecento. They were expensive objects as ivory was precious and pricey a n d r e q u i r e d e x t r e m e l y m e t i c u l o u s w o r k t h a t strained her eyes. According to the figures indicated in her diaries, the price of a minia- ture was 50 sequins or gold ducats, between 20 and 30 sequins for a pastel, depend- i n g o n w h e t h e r h a n d s o r other more elaborate ele- ments were included, like flowers. Cà Rezzonico also houses several pastel paintings of Carriera. A r e f i n e d r o c o c o a r t i s t born in Venice in 1675, Ros- alba Carriera is, above all, credited with the invention of the pastel portrait. "Rosalba's name is inextricably associat- ed with pastel, a technique that she led to maximum vir- tuosity and which made her f a m o u s q u i c k l y , " s a y s Craievich. A master of pastel mimics, she had an extraor- dinary gift for portraiture. Cavriech says that Carriera was the most famous Italian artist in 1700s Europe. "The number of studies still dedi- cated to it today only certify it. For almost half a century, the courts of Europe tried to secure her art services," he remarks. But the "queen of pastels," as the French art critic Léon La Grange first called her in an 1860 article, was also an e x t r a o r d i n a r y p a i n t e r o f miniatures on ivory. "Indeed, her debut as an artist, in the l a s t d e c a d e o f t h e s e v e n - teenth century, took place p r e c i s e l y i n t h i s f i e l d , " L'arte è donna: Rosalba Carriera and her role in opening up the way for female artists MARIELLA RADAELLI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Rosalba Carriera's pastel portrait of Saint Francis of Paola (Photo:ARTGEN / Alamy Stock Photo

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