First testimonies
Among the first Ligurian artistic manifestations, the rock engravings and the female statuettes of the Balzi Rossi caves dating back to the Paleolithic period present a particularly successful testimony of primitive sculpture. The Bronze Age was also a very flourishing period, as evidenced by the anthropomorphic stelae found in the area of La Spezia.
Byzantine heritage
The Ligurian pictorial tradition has been subject to strong foreign influences throughout its history. First of all, Genoa was part of Byzantine Italy until the 10th century. One of the first pictorial testimonies of the region is found in the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta of Sarzana, on the Tuscan border. The Crucifix of Mastro Guglielmo or Crucifix of Sarzana is dated 1138. Painted in gold tempera on wood, it is clearly influenced by the primitives. The golden tones, the flat tints, the rigidity of the figures shown from the front characterize the meeting of primitive art and Byzantine art.
Foreign influences followed one another during the eight centuries of Genoese domination. As a maritime republic, Genoa was at the heart of exchanges between the Middle East, North Africa and Greece. Its influence earned it the nickname of the Superba
in 1358. This title made it a great rival to Venice. The first golden age of Ligurian sculpture was in the 14th century. Genoa then called upon foreign artists to build, decorate and furnish its cities. The sculptors Giovanni Pisano, Barnaba da Modena and Andrea Sansovino exercised their talent in the city. The Funeral Monument to Margaret of Brabant by Giovanni Pisano (1313), preserved in the Museo di Sant'Agostino in Genoa, is a masterpiece of great modernity that is one of the artist's most fascinating achievements.The Genoese School
It was not until the 15th and 16th centuries, the Golden Age, that a homogeneous style was established.
In the 15th century, frescoes and stuccos were displayed in the interiors but also on the façades of buildings. An explosion of colors, characters and trompe-l'oeil images transformed the urban landscape into a fantastic scene. Among the authors of this show, the painters of the Genoese School: Luca Cambiaso, Lazzaro Tavarone and Bernardo Castello. Their numerous works are preserved today in the most important museums and religious buildings.
Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585), known as Lucchetto da Genova, was introduced to painting by his father Giovanni and by copying the masters of the Italian Renaissance. Influenced by Mannerism and Caravaggio, he adapted these exalted characteristics to his own style. His Madonna and Child with Little St. John and Madonna and Child and Magdalene (1548) can be admired at the Palazzo Bianco in Genoa and his Resurrection (1563) at the church of San Giovanni Battista in Montalto Ligure. His pupil was Lazzaro Tavarone (1556-1641), another Mannerist painter of the Genoese School. Both responded to a commission in Spain: the decoration of the Escorial in the Madrid area. Back in Genoa in 1594, he pursued an acclaimed career as a historical painter and portraitist. At the Cattedrale San Lorenzo in Genoa, don't miss his Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
. Bernardo Castello (1557-1629) was also apprenticed to Luca Cambiaso. He came from a family of artists including the famous miniaturist painter Giovanni Battista Castello, known as Il Genovese (1547-1637).Baroque glory
During the Genoese heyday, several Flemish painters were called upon to exercise their talents for powerful local families. Among them, Pier Paul Rubens and Antoine Van Dyck, authors of altarpieces, still lifes and portraitists of the aristocracy. Incredible collections of paintings are thus preserved in Genoese museums (in particular the museums of Strada Nuova) and in churches. Rubens' Circumcision in the Chiesa del Gesù (1605) is considered by art critics to be the first Baroque painting in history. Inspired by the examples of previous centuries, 17th century painting is characterized by a varied and original touch in representations of sacred and profane subjects. The painters Bernardo Strozzi (see The Paradise in the church of Santi Domenico), Domenico Fiasella (see his frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Annunziata del Vastato) and Valerio Castello whose fresco La Fama dei Balbi is exhibited among a rich collection of Genoese art in the Museo di Palazzo Reale
. This splendid palace houses 200 master paintings, furniture and sculptures, including those of the baroque Filippo Parodi. His work shows a strong influence of Bernini and classical Roman sculpture. The Frenchman Pierre Puget, active in Genoa between 1661 and 1668, encouraged the spread of Baroque sculpture in Genoa. He left major sculptures, such as the Saint Sebastian in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta. In the religious field, wood carvings made in the 17th and 18th centuries are still carried in procession today.Modern and contemporary
Founded in 1905 in a 19th century park overlooking the majestic Piazza Corvetto, the Museum of Oriental Art
was the first place dedicated to Japanese art to be opened in Europe. The collection, built up in the 19th century by local artist Eduardo Chiossone, includes Buddhist statues, masks and archaeological finds. An exotic interlude to discover!Italian contemporary art from 1930 to the present day is brought together in a 19th century residence, the Villa Croce Museum of Contemporary Art
. One of the pioneers of Arte Povera, Piero Manzoni, is here. A wind of renewal is blowing through the Cinque Terre as evidenced by CAMEC, the Center for Modern and Contemporary Art in La Spezia. Established in a historic building, the center offers innovative temporary exhibitions. Its permanent collections include the Cozzani Collection and the Battolini Collection, bequeathed by local families. The third part, the Civil Collection, features several decades of award-winning works from the Golfo della Spezia painting competitions. Perfect to get acquainted with the talents of the region!
