L'Italo-Americano

t a l e n t . R i n a l d i p o i n t s t o B e r n a r d o S t r o z z i , a Baroque artist from Genoa, w h o b r o u g h t a s e n s e o f drama and a "Netherlandish taste" to the Venetian palette. It was also a time of social evolution within the arts, see- ing the rise of Rosalba Carri- era, who began as a lace- maker and rose to become the most successful woman artist the city ever produced. Her work in the exhibition represents a shift toward the delicate, pastel-infused ele- gance that would define the city's final "Golden Age." If the Canaletto prints repre- sent the "mind" of Venice, the central wall of the exhibition represents its "funny bone." The centerpiece features four rare drawings by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo from his celebrated series, Diverti- mento per Regazzi (Enter- tainment for Children). The protagonist is Pulchinello, t h e b o o r i s h , h o o k - n o s e d clown from the Commedia dell'Arte. Tiepolo used this c h a r a c t e r a s a p o p u l i s t embodiment of Venice itself, illustrating the city's streets and social quirks through the antics of this chaotic figure. "Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo Rinaldi reminds us that at the height of its expansion, the Republic's reach was vast, touching the borders of Lom- bardy and Trentino. This "terra firma" (dry land) influ- ence brought a diversity to the art that is often over- looked. A centerpiece of this inland influence is a prepara- tory drawing by Romanino for the Castello del Buoncon- siglio in Trent. Rinaldi refers to the fresco cycle this draw- ing belongs to as the "Sistine Chapel of the Veneto." It rep- resents a unique fusion: the artistic heritage of Lombardy infused with the atmospheric "colorito" of Venice. The exhibition is orga- nized chronologically, begin- ning with the "Great Heroes" of the Renaissance, Titian a n d T i n t o r e t t o . R i n a l d i makes a compelling case for the often-ignored 17th centu- ry, what he calls a "lost centu- ry" for the Republic. "The 17th century, the Baroque era, is almost a lost century for Venice. The Republic is very much in decline, but it's a moment of great experi- mentation and input coming from outside." During this era, the city became a magnet for outside used Pulchinello almost as an embodiment of Venice itself. I t i s a s t o r y r e c o u n t e d through 100 drawings, done as a sort of visualizing puppet theater for children." A r e c u r r i n g t h e m e i n R i n a l d i ' s c u r a t i o n i s t h e incredible richness of San Francisco's own archives. The city's collection of 18th-cen- tury Venetian art, the Sette- cento, is among the finest in the world. For Rinaldi, this exhibition is a rare moment of "archaeology" within the m u s e u m ' s o w n w a l l s . Because works on paper are extremely sensitive to light, they spend most of their lives tucked away in climate-con- t r o l l e d s t o r a g e . " B e c a u s e works on paper are sensitive to light and kept in storage most of the time, it is really an event when they're put on display." Ultimately, the exhibition offers a bridge between two worlds, allowing the viewer to see the "hidden" Venice t h a t e x i s t e d b e f o r e t h e t o u r i s t s a r r i v e d , w i t h o u t requiring a flight to Italy. "For once, San Franciscans and people from the Bay Area don't have to go to Venice to see all these amazing things. It's really like a walk around Venice without the struggle of taking a plane." Drawn to Venice is more t h a n j u s t a c o l l e c t i o n o f sketches; it is a masterclass in how to see. Whether it is the "photographic" precision of a landscape or the raw energy of a Tiepolo sketch, the exhibition reminds us that drawing is a vehicle of identity. As visitors move through the Legion of Honor, they aren't just looking at 500-year-old paper, they are looking at the foundational documents of a culture that refused to be forgotten. In the end, Furio Rinaldi has curat- ed more than an exhibition; he has curated a homecom- ing for the Venetian spirit, right here in the heart of San Francisco. Drawn to Venice: Renais- sance Drawings and Prints from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is currently o n v i e w a t t h e L e g i o n o f H o n o r u n t i l A u g u s t 2 n d , 2026. raw, technical, and often humorous soul of the city. O n e o f t h e m o s t s t r i k i n g insights Rinaldi offers is the "uniquity" of the Venetian environment. Unlike other European capitals, Venice is a city stripped of nature, defined entirely by its struc- tural relationship with the water. "The main attraction of the city is, of course, its architectural uniquity. There's not a tree, there's not really a park. It is a city of pure architecture," he shares. This architectural obsession is captured with startling precision in the exhibition's s e c t i o n o n t h e V e d u t i s t i (landscape artists). Masters l i k e C a n a l e t t o a n d Francesco Guardi didn't j u s t p a i n t t h e c i t y ; t h e y mapped it with a clarity that bordered on the scientific. "The artists also implement- ed incredible technological advancements to do their almost photographic render- ings of the city. T h e y u s e d t h e c a m e r a obscura to render the city in a v e r y o b j e c t i v e w a y . I t almost looks as if you're see- ing through a glass." While we often think of Venice as an isolated cluster of islands, F o r c e n t u r i e s , Venice has been the world's most seductive muse. From the Impres- s i o n i s t b r u s h s t r o k e s o f Claude Monet to the digital f i l t e r s o f m o d e r n - d a y tourists, the Floating City is a l m o s t a l w a y s v i e w e d through the eyes of the out- sider, the traveler seeking a romanticized reflection in the lagoon. An exhibition at the Legion of Honor, Drawn to V e n i c e : R e n a i s s a n c e D r a w i n g s a n d P r i n t s from the Fine Arts Muse- ums of San Francisco, flips the script. This article is t h e s e c o n d i n a t w o - p a r t series exploring the T w o Venices currently on display at the Legion of Honor and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. While one looks at Venice through the transfor- mative lens of the French Impressionist Claude Monet, the other explores the city through the eyes of the native masters who built its identity. Curated by Furio Rinal- di, the Museums' Curator of D r a w i n g s a n d P r i n t s , t h e genesis of the exhibition was born from a simple, provoca- t i v e q u e s t i o n : w h a t d o e s Venice look like when it isn't being "visited"? As Rinaldi notes, the exhibition was designed to complement the m u s e u m ' s e x p l o r a t i o n o f Monet's time in Italy while offering a more internal per- spective. "This little show tells the other half of the story, what they've been pro- ducing, what Venetian art is, what is really the identity of Venetian art," he explains. Spanning the 15th through the 19th centuries, the exhibi- tion tracks the rise of the Republic as a maritime pow- e r h o u s e a n d i t s e v e n t u a l decline. It is an exploration of self-portraiture, not of a per- son, but of a civilization. By diving into the Museums' permanent holdings, specifi- cally the Achenbach Founda- tion for Graphic Arts, Rinaldi has assembled a narrative that moves beyond the typi- cal postcards to show the Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo's La Furlana from the series "Divertimento per li Ragazzi" (Image courtesy of FAMSF) Rediscovering Venice's masters in a Furio Rinaldi– curated Legion of Honor exhibit SERENA PERFETTO THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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