Bulgari Helps Restore 16th-century Paolo Veronese Paintings, Supports Two Exhibitions
MILAN — Bulgari continues to show its support of Italian arts and culture.
On Wednesday, the Rome-based jewelry company and Venetian Heritage presented two upcoming exhibitions dedicated to two Paolo Veronese paintings from the church of San Pietro Martire in Murano at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. The 16th-century paintings were restored by Venetian Heritage with the help of Bulgari, with an investment of 62,000 euros, or $66,157 at current exchange. The heavy over-varnishing of the paintings applied over the years had darkened, dimming the artist’s brilliant colors, while the gilt was peeling off the frames, leaving noticeable gaps. The restoration is part of a larger project to display the paintings in Venice and New York.
The large canvases showing “Saint Jerome in the Desert” and “Saint Agatha Visited in Prison by Saint Peter” were commissioned by Francesco degli Alberi, the priest of the church of Saint Mary of the Angels in Murano, and painted by Veronese in 1566.
The first exhibition, Murano Paintings by Paolo Veronese Restored by Venetian Heritage With the Support of Bulgari, will be inaugurated at Venice’s most important art museum, the Gallerie dell’Accademia on May 11, which coincides with the opening of the Venice Biennale. The second exhibition, Veronese in Murano: Two Venetian Renaissance Masterpieces Restored, will inaugurate on October 24 at The Frick Collection in New York.
The exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia will be complemented with a catalog focusing on the paintings’ histories and their restoration, illustrated with quality photographs by Matteo De Fina, and supported by Bulgari. The catalog is published in both Italian and English by Marsilio.
In Venice, Bulgari has also helped restore the Golden Staircase in the Doge’s Palace, the Gothic symbol of the city which used to house the Venetian government. The Golden Staircase was returned to the city in 2008 after one year of works.
Bulgari has been active in Rome, too, helping to restore the Spanish Steps, near its storied flagship in Via Condotti, and the floor mosaics of the Caracalla Baths. Bulgari, which is controlled by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has financed the new lighting of the monumental staircase featured in the Museum of Rome, Palazzo Braschi, in Piazza Navona.
In March, Bulgari opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Valenza, Italy, billed as the largest in Europe.
Italian luxury groups have been investing in preserving Italian landmarks, ranging from Tod’s restoration of the Colosseum and Fendi’s works on the Fontana di Trevi to Salvatore Ferragamo renovating rooms at the Uffizi Museum or Diesel restoring the Rialto Bridge, and, most recently, Gucci announcing the restoration of the Boboli Gardens in Florence.
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