The Seduction of Colour. Andrea Solario. Milan
Exhibition.
Environmental Graphics.
Lighting Design.
Poldi Pezzoli Museum / Via Alessandro Manzoni, 12. Turin / March 2025 / Poldi Pezzoli Museum
The Seduction of Colour. Andrea Solario. Milan
Exhibition.
Environmental Graphics.
Lighting Design.
Poldi Pezzoli Museum / Via Alessandro Manzoni, 12. Turin / March 2025 / Poldi Pezzoli Museum
In the spaces of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, 30 works from prestigious collections in Italy, France and the United Kingdom tell the story of the evolution of the artistic career of Andrea Solario, master of the Lombard Renaissance within a retrospective curated by Lavinia Galli and Antonio Mazzotta.
Carried out on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death, the project is the result of a scientific collaboration with the Louvre Museum. The installation design involves a light intervention within the rooms on the ground floor of the house-museum, introducing inclined central partitions to define a fluid path in three different environments dedicated to the Venetian, French and Milanese periods respectively, preceded by an introductory space. The intervention on the architectural box is characterised by the use of burgundy for the walls, for the central partitions and for the shade of the flooring. This classic and intense colour scheme takes up the colours of the museum’s rooms, creating an enveloping container-frame and giving rise to a sort of box effect in which people can immerse themselves. Within this homogeneous set, the works are highlighted by the presence of a double-inclined backdrop in a blue shade. The vertical plane behind them welcomes groups at times while isolating other ones, thus defining a rhythm of reading and meaning with respect to their positioning. The inclined plane, on the other hand, which encompasses the works from above as if to create a space of respect and distance from the surroundings, contains a precise lighting system that defines the role of light in interepreting the works. In addition to supporting visitors’ understanding of the works, the graphics on display invite them to immerse themselves in the historical context of reference by comparing drawings and maps with the texts. The choice to add the different signatures used by the artist throughout the various phases of his life, from youth to the years of maturity, to the backdrops also goes in this direction.
Photo by Nicola Colia
In the spaces of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, 30 works from prestigious collections in Italy, France and the United Kingdom tell the story of the evolution of the artistic career of Andrea Solario, master of the Lombard Renaissance within a retrospective curated by Lavinia Galli and Antonio Mazzotta. Carried out on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death, the project is the result of a scientific collaboration with the Louvre Museum. The installation design involves a light intervention within the rooms on the ground floor of the house-museum, introducing inclined central partitions to define a fluid path in three different environments dedicated to the Venetian, French and Milanese periods respectively, preceded by an introductory space. The intervention on the architectural box is characterised by the use of burgundy for the walls, for the central partitions and for the shade of the flooring. This classic and intense colour scheme takes up the colours of the museum’s rooms, creating an enveloping container-frame and giving rise to a sort of box effect in which people can immerse themselves. Within this homogeneous set, the works are highlighted by the presence of a double-inclined backdrop in a blue shade. The vertical plane behind them welcomes groups at times while isolating other ones, thus defining a rhythm of reading and meaning with respect to their positioning. The inclined plane, on the other hand, which encompasses the works from above as if to create a space of respect and distance from the surroundings, contains a precise lighting system that defines the role of light in interepreting the works. In addition to supporting visitors’ understanding of the works, the graphics on display invite them to immerse themselves in the historical context of reference by comparing drawings and maps with the texts. The choice to add the different signatures used by the artist throughout the various phases of his life, from youth to the years of maturity, to the backdrops also goes in this direction.
Photo by Nicola Colia
