Caravaggio. The impossible exhibit in Fossano

Fossano - a town in Cuneo province - is hosting the “Impossible Exhibition”, an extraordinary exhibition organized by Munus and dedicated to Michelangelo Merisi: forty masterpieces of the great Caravaggio, presented with high-definition and full-scale reproductions.

Not a conventional exhibition of paintings, but a new and innovative communications system of great educational value that also offers visitors deep insight into the paintings’ chromatic aspects and light effects.

On show 40 works – almost all of Caravaggio's paintings – belonging to the most important museums and galleries around the world, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Prado in Madrid, from the National Gallery in London to the Hermitage in Saint Peterbourg, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Among the works on show, the most famous ones, such as Bacchus and Medusa. Furthermore, the works that are not visible in normal conditions, such as the Boy bitten by a lizard, belonging to the Foundation Roberto Longhi in Florence and accessible only for research purposes, and the works housed in churches, such as the three Contarelli Chapel's Saint Matthew altarpieces, that can finally be admired from a short distance and with a perfect lighting, allowing to see their beautiful colours and details.

The exhibition also allows visitors to take a fascinating journey and discover Caravaggio's life through films, documentaries and shows, as well as a soundtrack composed for the exhibition, extracted from the scores painted in four of his works: Rest on the flight to Egypt (1596), the two versions of The Lute Player (1596-97) and Amor Vincit Omnia (1602).

The reproductions are carried out from a high-resolution matrix that has been digitalized, then adjusted for light and colour, then transferred to a uniform and transparent support with a fine grain, the same size as the originals. We are dealing with “certified” reproductions, in the sense that the fidelity to the originals is guaranteed by distinguished Italian and foreign art historians. The reproduction technique is the result of ten years of work carried out by a group of photographic, light and image digitalisation experts and allowed the technicians of the RAI, with the use of backlit transparent supports

The mass diffusion of works of art, assured by reproduction, pays homage to the idea of a “moment of cultural democratization” formulated by Walter Benjamin and André Malraux.

Presented by the Fossano City Council with the collaboration of the Diocese of Fossano and ProgettoMondo Mlal, conceived and carried out by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in collaboration with the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism and curated by a scientific committee composed by leading art historians among which Ferdinando Bologna and Claudio Strinati, the exhibition is organized by Munus, that has already brought to life the cycle of Caravaggio exhibitions dedicated to Caravaggio in Rome between 2010 and 2014: Carlo Saraceni 1579 – 1620 (2013 - 2014); Rome on Caravaggio's day 1600-1630 (2011 – 2012); Caravaggio. The Genius' Workshop (2010 - 2011) and Caravaggio. The Contarelli Chapel (2011), organized by Munus at National Museum of Palazzo Venezia for the Special Superintendency of the City of Rome and About Caravaggio. Contemporary Visions & illusions (2012 – 2013), organized by Munus at Scuderie Aldobrandini in Frascati (Rome) for the Superintenency of the Lazio Region.

Fossano is a town in Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo. It is the fourth largest town of the Province of Cuneo, after Cuneo, Alba and Bra. It lies on the main railway line from Turin to Cuneo and to Savona.

Exhibit information:

Acaja Castle and Diocesan Museum Fossano
for Information: +39.06.88522480 - www.munus.com
Running through July 2nd 2017
Opening Hours: Friday from 3pm to 10pm - Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7pm
Admission: Adults € 10.00; reduced € 5.00; School reductions € 3.00. For families with two children, one child free.