In Bologna the exhibition "A masterpiece of the day" with Monet, Renoir and Boldini
The exhibition transforms the Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna into a sort of time machine. The itinerary is divided into 12 sections of two hours each, six dedicated to daylight and six to evening and night. It starts from the early hours of the morning, when nature and cities begin to awaken, to progressively arrive at work in the fields, urban life, lunch, afternoon, sunset and finally silence and nocturnal atmospheres.
A nineteenth-century day told through painting
The curatorial idea starts from a fundamental change that took place in nineteenth-century painting. Everyday life gradually enters art: alongside the great historical and mythological subjects, the landscape, work, domestic life, the streets, the bourgeoisie and above all the transformations of light during the day acquire importance.
The visitor thus encounters awakening in the works of Antonio Fontanesi, Luigi Bertelli and Augusto Majani, daily life and work through Francesco Paolo Michetti and Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, while urban modernity emerges in Giovanni Boldini's London.
Midday leads to the light of Brittany represented by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, while sunset and night pave the way for the atmospheres of Nino Costa, Mario de Maria and the Night Water Lilies attributed in the itinerary to Claude Monet.
The exhibition deliberately relates well-known artists with authors who are less present in the imagination of the general public today. Among the works indicated by the project there are also works by Vittorio Matteo Corcos, Marie Bashkirtseff, Camillo Innocenti, Girolamo Induno and Julia Hoffmann Tedesco.
Sounds, scents and lights accompany the works
"A Masterpiece of the Day" is not only conceived as a succession of paintings. The installation uses sounds, light variations and olfactory suggestions to accompany the transition from one moment of the day to another: from the cool atmosphere of the morning to the heat of midday to the humidity evoked by the night.
Literature and poetry also enter the itinerary, with texts linked to the historical period: Gabriele D'Annunzio's verses accompany the morning hours, while those of Giacomo Leopardi introduce the atmosphere of dusk. The aim is to tell not only how the nineteenth century was represented, but also how the rhythms, environments and habits of everyday life could be perceived.
Info: Exhibition "A masterpiece of the day"
The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:30, with last admission at 18:30 and closing on Mondays. There are some extraordinary openings during holidays and long weekends, while from 26 December 2026 to 17 January 2027 the exhibition will be open every day. The full ticket costs 16 euros, while there are several reduced formulas. Until 2 October, a special pre-sale of the OPEN ticket is also available for 13 euros, which can be used on a free date during the period of the exhibition. For the visit, it is advisable to allow approximately 90-120 minutes.
