Saturday, Jul 15, 2006
Exhibition opens in Switzerland
Augustus Saint-Gaudens: American Sculptor of the Gilded Age
The success of the traveling exhibition of the work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens throughout the United States during the last three years, sparked the interest of other museums here and overseas. From June 12 – October 1, 2006, the Trust for Museum Exhibitions will be bringing the exhibition to Switzerland, where it will be on view at the Museo Vela in Ligornetto (Ticino).
The Museo Vela was the second museum property accepted by the Swiss Confederation, in 1896, and the first home and studio of an artist. As such, the property has a real connection to the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site. Both properties include the home, studio and gardens of a great nineteenth century sculptor, and both have extensive collections of the artist’s work.
The Museo Vela was built in 1867 by the architect Cipriano Ajmetti as a retreat and private museum for the sculptor Vincenzo Vela (1820-1891). Built in a unique style that centers on a court – or “pantheon”, the building served as a home and studio for the artist, his son, the painter Spartico Vela (1854-1895) and his brother, the sculptor Lorenzo Vela (1812-1897). It became a public museum in the early 1880s, and was accepted by the State in 1896.
Vincenzo Vela was a sculptor of an earlier generation than Saint-Gaudens, but whose philosophy was not dissimilar. Born in Ligornetto, Switzerland, Vela began his career in Milan, where he studied with Lorenzo Bartolini (1777-1850). Bartolini was an early advocate of seeking inspiration in nature and the Renaissance, instead of the more formal Academic adherence to the Classical. In contrast to the Greek inspired work of Antonio Canova (1757-1822) or Bertel Thorvaldsen (d.1844), Vela sought realism and emotion in art. He was active in the movement for Italian reunification, and produced works of political and social importance. His early figure of the Roman slave Sparticus (1849) was troubling enough to the Austrian rulers of northern Italy, that Vela was exiled to Turin. The majority of his career was spent there, where he became a teacher at the Albertina Fine Arts Academy. Vela was known for his portraits of great figures of the new Italy, Cavour, Vittorio Emanuele, and Garibaldi.
He returned to Switzerland in 1867. It was in that year that his most popular work, The Last Moments of Napoleon I, was exhibited at the Éxposition Universelle in Paris. In his later years he turned increasingly to themes of social importance, such as the Victims of Labor (1882).
An illustrated exhibition catalogue is available in Italian (an essay by Saint-Gaudens NHS curator, Dr. Henry Duffy, is also included in English). The catalogue will be available in the United States at Eastern National Museum Shop at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site. Contact the park at (603) 675-2175 for information on the exhibit or the catalog.
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