- A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750
- September 26, 2021 – January 9, 2022
- West Building, Main Floor

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1645, oil on canvas, Genova, Fondazione Spinola, Chiesa di San Luca, © Scala / Art Resource, NY
By the 17th century, Genoa was the banking center of Europe with a functioning republican government and enormous wealth that enabled its artists and their patrons to create a singularly rich and beautiful expression of baroque style, with works of extraordinary material sumptuousness, visual splendor, and exuberant feeling. The first major presentation of the Genoese baroque in the United States, this landmark exhibition—accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog—presents some 130 paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, drawings, and prints ranging from 1600 through 1750.
Forming the core of the exhibition are works by the school’s well-known painters—
Among the drawings and prints featured are many by the same artists who executed the paintings and objects, with some connected to them. These works reveal the striking characteristics of Genoese draftsmanship: complex techniques, pictorial elaboration, and autonomous function. In fantasy and fluency, the etchings—particularly those of Castiglione and
The exhibition is curated by Jonathan Bober, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art; Piero Boccardo, Superintendent of the City Collections of Genoa; and Franco Boggero, director, historic and artistic heritage section, Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio, Genoa.
Organization: The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, with special cooperation from the City and Museums of Genoa.
Sponsors: The exhibition is made possible by the Robert Lehman Foundation. Additional funding is provided by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.
Hashtag: #BaroqueGenoa
Passes: Admission is always free and passes are not required.
Other venues: Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Spring 2022
Lectures
Postponed—Introduction to the Exhibition—A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750
May 31 at 2:00
West Building Lecture Hall
Lectures
Postponed—Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione: Genoa’s Self-Proclaimed Genius—Timothy Standring
June 28 at 2:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium
- Biscaino, Bartolomeo
- Italian
- , 1629 - 1657
- Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto
- Italian
- , 1609 - 1664
- Dyck, Anthony van, Sir
- Flemish
- , 1599 - 1641
- Ferrari, Gregorio De
- Italian
- , 1647 - 1726
- Gentileschi, Orazio
- Italian
- , 1563 - 1639
- Magnasco, Alessandro
- Italian
- , 1667 - 1749
- Piola, Domenico
- Italian
- , 1628 - 1703
- Procaccini, Giulio Cesare
- Italian
- , 1574 - 1625
- Puget, Pierre
- French
- , 1620 - 1694
- Rubens, Peter Paul, Sir
- Flemish
- , 1577 - 1640
- Solimena, Francesco
- Italian
- , 1657 - 1747
- Strozzi, Bernardo
- Italian
- , 1581 - 1644