Porta Soprana City Gate

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Porta Soprana City Gate

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Porta Soprana City Gate

 

This magnificent gateway, surmounted by two towers, was the main access to the ancient city from the East (Levant).
Between 1155 and 1158, facing the threat of assault by the army of Frederick Barbarossa, the Genoese participated in the construction of the new city walls and gates. Thanks to this Genoa was not subjected to attack by the imperial troops and instead, the emperor was forced to negotiate with a city which was not only powerful, but also had a fleet capable of keeping any land army in check.
Restored in the early twentieth century, Porta Soprana impresses with the impetus of its towers but also with the elegance of the entrance arch: an ogival arch (which predates the adoption of this feature as a recurring motif of Gothic art) framed on both the interior and exterior by solid marble columns with  splendid decorated capitals.

The towers are closed to the public. 

Chemistry Museum

With several hundreds of objects on display, mainly dating back to the second half of the 19th century, the Museum, set in an original early 20th century laboratory and adjoining rooms, offers, thanks also to the fruition of themed itineraries (rare earths, color, gases, discovery of the elements….), an exhaustive overview of the evolution of chemistry.

The atmosphere that can be breathed makes the material on display a still living means of knowledge and education, as well as returning to the visitor anecdotes and episodes of the common life of great personalities such as Lavoisier, Cannizzaro, Mendeleev, Chevreul.

 

Valerio Castello, affresco, "La Fama"

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Author/ School/ Dating:

Valerio Castello (Genova, 1624-1659)

Object Type:

Fresco decorations

Technique and Dimensions:

Fresco

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Valerio Castello, Fresco, The Allegory of Fame

 

The Antechamber of the Duke of Genoa, a veritable "camera picta", dates to the original commission by the Balbi, the first owners of the residence who, with foresight and refined taste, selected Valerio Castello (1624-1659) to undertake the work, Castello was a key artist of the Genoese Baroque period and was active in this environment between 1653 and 1654.

For what was then the home of the Balbi he created this graceful, sinuous winged figure, intent on playing an elongated trumpet, silhouetted against a lapis lazuli blue sky: it is Fame declaring the success and glories of the family. A fame achieved through the application of the Virtues, as is underlined by the allegories depicted within the niches on the cornice where the figures of Intelligence, Vigilance, Immortality and Wisdom are shown.

The perspective construction featuring "false" squares is the work of Giovanni Maria Mariani an artist from Pesaro, who trained in Bologna and was very active in Rome (where he died in 1679).

On the walls Valerio creates an architecture effect which seems to amplify the space towards the outside: the trompe l'oeil effect can still be seen above the doors with medallions supported by putti, while in the centre of the walls decorative panels give the impression of gilded stucco.

Even the tempera on the border is by the hand of Castello,  simulating monochrome reliefs on a red background dedicated to the personifications of Painting, Sculpture, Astronomy and Music while in the green panels are the Four Elements with Tritons, Centaurs and Lapiths.

Giovan Carlo Doria a cavallo

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Author/ School/ Dating:

Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen, 1577 - Anversa, 1640)

Object Type:

Painting

Technique and Dimensions:

Oli on canvas, 265 x 188 cm

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Peter Paul Rubens "Portrait of Gio. Carlo Doria"

 

Recorded in the inventory of Giovan Carlo Doria's assets drawn up in 1617 and in subsequent inventories of the picture gallery of the palace in Vico del Gelsomino, the painting passed to his son Agostino and then, in 1640, after Agostino’s death, to his brother Marcantonio Doria. In fact, Carlo Giuseppe Ratti reports it as hanging in Marcantonio IV Doria’s picture gallery. Subsequent hereditary passages saw its transfer to Naples, where it was exhibited in the Doria d'Angri palace.
In March 1940 the painting was put up for sale together with other works in the collection, but the export request that its new owner presented on June 18th, 1940 was rejected by the Minister of National Education following opposition from the National Council of Education. However a year later the painting was ceded to Adolf Hitler and destined for the museum in Linz. On November 16th, 1948, the portrait was returned to Italy and exhibited in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, it remained there until 1985, when it was transferred to Naples and placed in storage at the Capodimonte museum. In 1988 the work was definitively assigned to the National Gallery of Liguria in Palazzo Spinola.
The origins of the painting can be traced with particular precision. Giovan Carlo was knighted as a member of the Order of St. James, on 28th December 1612, this was the final step of a process initiated by a "plea" dating to around 1603. On July 8, 1606 Philip III, informed the Order of his intention to confer the honour to the nobleman, a declaration which had to be communicated within thirty days. It can therefore be assumed that following the official announcement of the investiture Giovan Carlo, taking advantage of the presence in Genoa of Rubens, commissioned the painting in which he appears bearing the cross of the Order, but without wearing the robes (1610) nor having taken the oath (1612). 
In the same year Rubens painted a portrait of Giovan Carlo’s father Agostino, now lost, and that of his sister-in-law Brigida Spinola.

Hokusai “The Great Wave”

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Titolo dell'opera:

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Acquisizione:

Collezione Edoardo Chiossone 1898

Autore:

Katsushika, Hokusai

Epoca:

1830 - 1832

Inventario:

S-2583/13

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 26; Larghezza: 37.6

Technique and Dimensions:

Polychrome woodcut nishikie in large horizontal format (ōban yokoe), ink and colors on paper, 26 x 37,6 cm

Ultimi prestiti:

Hokusai. Sulle orme del Maestro - Roma, Museo dell'Ara Pacis, Spazio esp. Ara Pacis - 12 ottobre 2017 – 14 gennaio 2018<br>Dipinti e stampe del Mondo Fluttuante. Capolavori Ukiyoe del Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Palazzo Ducale - 16 aprile – 21 agosto 2005

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The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Descrizione:

Universally known as "The Great Wave", this print is the most popular of the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" series. It represents a highly innovative case in the history of ukiyo-e landscape painting, "the art of the floating world", an artistic production aimed at the bourgeois public of the Edo Period (1600–1867). Becoming famous in the West at the end of the 19th century thanks to the spread of Japonism, this powerful view was much loved by the Impressionists and still continues to influence design, marketing and advertising today. The composition consists of three main elements: the stormy sea, the boats and Mount Fuji. The boats are called oshiokuri-bune, barges 12/15 meters long used for transporting fish still alive. Each boat is operated by eight rowers and carries two passengers. This ukiyoe woodblock print can be considered the iconic image of the modern contrast between man and nature. The great wave that puts sailors in difficulty is an image of nature that dominates man, and contrasts with the other great natural element of the work: the volcanic mountain of Fuji, the national symbol of Japan. The artist became famous for his landscapes created using a palette of indigo and imported Prussian blue.

Gaetano Gallino "Giuseppe Garibaldi"

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Titolo dell'opera:

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Acquisizione:

Leone Carlini 1933

Author/ School/ Dating:

Gaetano Gallino (Genova 1804 - 1884)

Epoca:

Inventario:

17

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 73.3; Larghezza: 64

Technique and Dimensions:

Oil on canvas, 73,3 x 64 cm

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Giuseppe Garibaldi
Descrizione:

Gaetano Gallino, Genoese, exiled as a supporter of Mazzini, met Garibaldi in 1841 in Uruguay and fought under his command in the Italian Legion in Montevideo and, in 1848, on hearing of the revolutionary uprisings, returned with him to Italy. Here, the Hero of Two Worlds is portrayed wearing the legendary red shirt, which he adopted for the first time in 1843 as the uniform of his volunteers of the Italian Legion. Portrait of Giuseppe Garibaldi in a red shirt.

Bandiera dei Mille

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Titolo dell'opera:

Bandiera dei Mille

Acquisizione:

Carabinieri di Genova 15 febbario1861 Genova - donazione

Author/ School/ Dating:

Bandiera dei Mille (228683)

Epoca:

Inventario:

27

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 140; Larghezza: 190

Tecnica:

seta ricamata

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Bandiera dei Mille (228683)
Descrizione:

The Neapolitan patriot women donated the flag to Garibaldi in September 1860; in turn, the Neapolitan gave it in an official ceremony in Caserta on 19 October of the same year to the Genoese Carabinieri corps, who handed it over to the mayor of Genoa, Marquis Gerolamo Gavotti, on 15 February 1861 (see nos. 833, 834). Representing the Genoese Carabinieri at the official ceremony were Antonio Mosto, Stefano Canzio, Bartolomeo Savi, Giovanni Fontana and Luigi Malatesta. In later years, at Garibaldi's own wish, it was only displayed at special patriotic ceremonies, as in the case of Giuseppe Mazzini's funeral, which took place in Genoa on 17 March 1872. Garibaldi often referred to this banner as the 'flag of the Thousand'. Since 1915, the flag, known as the 'flag of the Thousand', has been kept in the Museo del Risorgimento.

Petrus Henricus Theodor Tetar van Elven "La partenza dei Mille"

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Titolo dell'opera:

Departure of the expedition of the Thousand

Acquisizione:

Petrus Henricus Theodor Tetar van Elven 1889 Genova

Author/ School/ Dating:

Petrus Henricus Theodor Tetar van Elven (Amsterdam, 1831 - Milano, 1908)

Epoca:

Inventario:

39

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 96; Larghezza: 179

Technique and Dimensions:

Oil on canvas, 179 x 96 cm

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Departure of the expedition of the Thousand
Descrizione:

The painting is a faithful reconstruction of the departure of Garibaldi and his volunteers from the cliff of Quarto. The artist’s meticulous attention to detail led him to visit the site as well as to make a careful review of the available documents, images and eye witness reports, this also allowed him to accurately depict the physiognomy of the main protagonists, those close to Garibaldi. Garibaldi himself stands out in the uncertain dawn thanks to the glare created by one of the nearby figures lighting a pipe. The painting is a faithful reconstruction of Garibaldi and his volunteers' departure from the rock of Quarto on 5 May 1860.

Browning of Golden Book

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Titolo dell'opera:

Abbruciamento del Libro d’Oro della nobiltà in piazza dell'acqua verde

Acquisizione:

A. Capurro 1921

Author/ School/ Dating:

Abbruciamento del Libro d’Oro della nobiltà in piazza dell'acqua verde (229029)

Epoca:

Inventario:

I.M.G. St/3322

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 43.8; Larghezza: 21

Tecnica:

incisione su carta

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Abbruciamento del Libro d’Oro della nobiltà in piazza dell'acqua verde (229029)
Descrizione:

Under the influence of the ideas of freedom and equality originating in revolutionary France and brought with them by Napoleon's armies, a popular uprising in Genoa marked the end of the aristocratic regime and the advent of the democratic Ligurian Republic. The painting depicts the episode in Piazza dell’Acquaverde on June 14th, 1797, when Genoese Jacobins raised the flag of freedom and set fire to the “Golden Book”, the register of the Genoese Nobility.

Plinio Nomellini "Inaugurazione del Monumento ai Mille"

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Titolo dell'opera:

Inauguration of the Monument to the Thousand

Acquisizione:

Plinio Nomellini 1916 Genova - donazione

Author/ School/ Dating:

Plinio Nomellini (Livorno, 1866 - Firenze, 1943)

Object Type:

painting

Epoca:

Inventario:

Dip/205

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 39; Larghezza: 44

Tecnica:

olio su tavola

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Inauguration of the Monument to the Thousand
Descrizione:

The painting documents the atmosphere of anxious anticipation and patriotic exaltation surrounding the inauguration of the Monument to the Thousand. The artist depicted the moment when the large red drape covering Baroni's work was removed and the Hero appeared to rise. The painter Antonio Discovolo relates the circumstances of the creation of this small painting, describing a Nomellini who, at the very moment Gabriele d'Annunzio was giving his speech, squeezed some colour from a small box onto the palette, dipped his fingers in it and began to trace red, blue and yellow stains on a tablet, each time wiping his finger on the lining of the jacket of the painter Eugenio Olivari, who repeatedly tried to get him to use a handkerchief.
Further evidence of the day is provided by the extensive photographic material produced for the occasion. The painting depicts the inauguration of the monument to the Thousand in the Genoese district of Quarto.

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