Exhibition The Great Awakening. Ruins of Antiquity and the Dawn of the Italian Renaissance (2023)

Mikołaj Baliszewski (Museum of Warsaw Castle, Poland)

The exhibition under preparation in the Royal Castle in Warsaw is conceived as a narrative about the role of the remains of the ancient world in shaping Italian art ca. 1470–1500, understood literally as the material remains of Roman civilization, the focus of antiquarianism and collecting, and metaphorically as the shadows of ancient history and ideas, brought to life through the in-depth study of humanists. The aim of the research was to assemble a list of exhibits together with the detailed topics of the narrative, draft the catalogue entries, and produce an outline of an essay. All the objectives of the research visit have been met, and its usefulness for further research is of the highest value. During the first month of work, attention was focused on analyzing the catalogues of institutions holding works of art of the Italian Quattrocento, both in Italy and abroad, the catalogues of exhibitions organized in the last 20 years, and the Fotothek resources (both on site and the online database). The number of identified works of art eligible for lending increased to 334 at the end of the stay. Communication with the owners concerning loan requests was initiated and have already resulted in some positive outcome. In order to formulate the specific narrative threads, produce the descriptions of objects, and develop the concept of the essay, detailed queries were carried out. Research continued in the area of catalogues, as well as in the section of monographs on Italian artists (floors 5–3), field and topographical studies, and primary texts. Having established contact with the director of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, it was possible to agree on an exclusive “prelude” to the exhibition devoted to the Story of Virginia by Sandro Botticelli. An essay to be published in the exhibition catalogue was written with the title “Against Tyranny. The Republican Ideal of Freedom and 15th-Century Italian Patriotism in Sandro Botticelli’s History of Virginia (ca. 1496–1500)”; it discusses the symbolism of the exemplary subjects – the stories of Lucretia and Virginia - in the context of the political crisis and the French invasion of Italy (1494–1495). Three illustrations, drawn from the new resources of the Fotothek, have been acquired for the book.