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The Accademia: The Principal Art Gallery in Venice
The Accademia is located
on the southern bank of the Grand Canal near to the bridge of the same
name which connects the Dorsoduro and San Marco districts.
The Accademia is primarily a museum of art. It was founded in 1750 as
the Venice School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture with the
intention that it should rival other prestigious academies in Rome,
Milan and Bologna.
The Accademia was transferred to its current premises after the
Napoleonic invasion of 1797. The French closed many traditional
fraternities, particularly the six "scuole grande", as part of its
policy of eliminating any organisation which had previously possessed
power and influence.
One such institution, the Scuola della Carita, founded in 1260, was the
oldest of the six scuole grande. Its former premises, which incorporate
a splendid 15th century facade by Bartolomeo Bon, now serve as the
entrance hall to the Accademia and house the Byzantine and Gothic
collections.
The Scuola della Carita was amalgamated with two neighbouring
institutions which had also been closed by the Napoleonic authorities.
The first, the Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi, completed to a design
by Palladio, had been seriously damaged by fire in 1630. Its former
cloisters now house the baroque and renaissance collections. The second,
the former church of Santa Maria della Carita, dates from the 12th
century, but was extensively rebuilt by Bartolomeo Bon in the 1440's.
Its facade is still clearly identifiable as a 15th century Gothic church
but its interior has been split into two floors: the first houses the
Venetian College of Art and the second is used for temporary
exhibitions.
The museum comprises four principal collections: Byzantine and
International Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque Genre and Landscape, and
Ceremonial Paintings.
The paintings of the Byzantine and International Gothic Gallery possess
the sharp-angled linear features typical of the Gothic period, blended
with golden Byzantine backdrops. The collection is intended to
demonstrate the influence of Byzantine art on Venetian painters in the
Middle Ages.
The renaissance collection contains many of the masterpieces which
transformed Venice into a major cultural centre during the 16th century.
Amongst the most notable pictures on display are the Feast of Levi
(1573) by Palo Veronese, which covers the entire wall of one exhibition
room, and Giovanni Bellini's equally monumental altarpiece for the
church of San Giobbe (1490).
The baroque, genre and landscape collection exhibits the work of several
baroque masters who migrated to Venice in search of patronage and
inspiration, such as Bernardo Strozzi whose Feast of Simon, based on
Veronese's "Feast of the Levi", is exhibited there. There are also
numerous pastoral and society paintings including works by Zuccarelli,
Ricci, and Pietro Longhi and some notable landscapes, particularly by
Canaletto.
The ceremonial collection contains numerous canvasses which depict
religious events, often against the backdrop of renaissance Venice, thus
providing a fascinating insight into the life and culture of the period.
These works include Carpaccio's "Legend of Saint Ursula" and the Holy
Cross cycle of paintings by Bellini, Bastiani and others which were
seized from the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in 1797.
The Accademia has been criticised for retaining works of art confiscated
by the French from churches, convents and scuole. The contrary view is
that such treasures are too valuable to be scattered amongst several
venues.
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