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Andrea Mantegna, The Adoration of the Magi, The J. Paul Getty
Museum, Los Angeles, California
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When asked about their Californian dream, many people answer
describing great venues on the seaside, the Walk of Fame, the exciting clubs in
San Francisco, or the stunning Natural Parks.
And of course, they would love to pay a visit to the
famous locations of the many TV series which have "Charmed" [this is
an intentional reference] entire generations of fans: from the soap-opera
"Santa Barbara" to "The Bold and the Beautiful", from
"Bewitched" to "Baywatch", from "Beverly Hills
90210" to "The O.C.", from "Private Practice" to
"The Big Bang Theory", just to name a few.
Not many people, however, will describe art, museums and galleries as
"good reasons" for dreaming of California.
Many Italian – and European – visitors are usually convinced that there
is not much art to be found on the other side of the ocean. But this is not
true.
As an art historian, I have been spending years wandering through many
countries, visiting art galleries and museums, and I can assure you that art
and culture also have their American homes.
I had such wonderful experiences in the great museums of the East Coast,
and since then I have been dreaming of going west: the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los
Angeles and Malibu, the Hearst Castle in San Simeon and the Norton Simon Museum
of Pasadena are on my wish list, from the days of yore.
I am mostly interested in two paintings, strongly connected with my
research: a Noble Lady by Giulio Campi in Hearst Castle, once thought to
be a portrait of Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, and an Adoration of
the Magi by Andrea Mantegna in the J. Paul Getty Museum of Los Angeles.
Both these paintings, now in California, are from Mantua, the town where
I was born, where I live and where I have been showing around visitors (mostly
Americans) for the past ten years.
So, this is my #CalifoniaDreamBig: an art trip to California, offering
me the chance of meeting so many masterpieces face to face (and heart to
heart).
Giulio Campi, Portrait of an Italian Noblewoman (maybe Isabella
d’Este), Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California
Indian Art, Shiva in the Fierce Form of Bhairava, Asian Art
Museum of San Francisco, California
Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Henrietta Maria of France, Queen Consort
of England, Scotland and Ireland, The San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego California
Burmese Art, Gilded Buddha from Sagaing, The Fowler Museum at
UCLA, Los Angeles, California
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, A Young Girl Defending Herself against
Cupid, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California
Greek Art, Kouros, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California
Raphael, Madonna and Child with a Book, The Norton Simon Museum
of Art, Pasadena, California
Music: California Dreamin’, performed by Scala & Kolacny
Brothers