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Corpi moderni

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Corpi moderni.

The Making of the Body in Renaissance Venice. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione

April 4 – July 27, 2025

 

🎫 Tickets

👀 Guided tours

The Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia are pleased to announce the upcoming major exhibition Corpi moderni. The Making of the Body in Renaissance Venice. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione, open to the public from April 4 to July 27, 2025.

Curated by Giulio Manieri Elia, Guido Beltramini, and Francesca Borgo, the exhibition offers a fascinating exploration of the conception of the human body that emerged in Renaissance Venice, spanning art, science, and material culture. Corpi moderni delves into how, for the first time, the body was conceived as a field of scientific investigation, an object of desire, and a means of self-expression. The Renaissance marks a turning point where the body is no longer merely a biological entity but a cultural construct, shaped by science, art, and social conventions.

The exhibition brings together extraordinary works of art, some presented in Italy for the first time, including drawings, paintings, and sculptures from the most prestigious international and national museums and collections. Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albrecht Dürer, Titian, Giorgione, and Giovanni Bellini are featured alongside scientific instruments, anatomical models, books, garments, miniatures, and everyday objects.

 

Opera "Allegoria della Vanità" di Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini (1434/39 – 1516), Allegory of Producence or Vanity, 1490 ca., oil on canva, 32 x 22 cm, Venice, Gallerie dell’Accademia, inv. 595c

 

The exhibition is divided into three major sections. The first, "Il corpo svelato: conoscere", delves into the discovery of the human body as an object of scientific and medical study, with Padua and Venice serving as two key European centers of this exploration.

On this occasion, Leonardo's famous Vitruvian Man, one of the iconic treasures of the Gallerie dell'Accademia and an international symbol of global cultural heritage, will be on public display again after six years. For the first time, it will be presented alongside an ancient Greek metrological relief, sparking a reflection on the concepts of "measure" and "ideal," rooted in antiquity.

 

"Uomo vitruviano" di Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519), Study of the proportions of the human body, known as the Vitruvian Man, 1498, Metalpoint, pen and ink, touches of watercolour on white paper, 345 x 246 mm, Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia, inv. 228r

 

The second section, "Il corpo nudo: desiderare", examines the representation of the body as an object of gaze and desire. On one side, the female nude, depicted in the iconic Renaissance invention of the reclining Venus, gracefully posed within a landscape—a motif that continues to influence art to this day. On the other, the lyrical, suffering, and sublime male body of saints and biblical heroes, portrayed in the style of classical antiquity.

The desire of the body ensuring lineage and future is depicted through domestic objects such as cassoni (wedding chests), childbirth trays, and exquisite portraits of young brides who, by subtly concealing one breast, evoke a controlled sense of eroticism —a common iconographic tradition in the Venetian region. In this context, Titian’s enigmatic painting The Lovers from the British Royal Collection at Windsor takes center stage. The man’s gesture of caressing his lover’s exposed breast has only recently been interpreted as a symbolic act affirming the marital bond. Also on display is the only known copy of Pietro Aretino’s Sonetti Lussiuriosi (private collection) and a remarkable woman’s cap from the 16th century, the only surviving example of such a finely crafted female headpiece, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The third and final section, "Il corpo costruito: rappresentarsi", examines the body as a cultural space of representation. Clothing, surgical treatises, cosmetic tools, and personal care accessories reveal the Renaissance man and woman’s drive to conform to social standards and models, reflected in their portrayal through a specific inventory of symbols and adornments defining masculinity and femininity. Among the items related to beauty, a rare 16th-century casket—a luxurious predecessor to today’s makeup box— containing mirrors, perfumes, and self-care objects (private collection).

The exhibition also investigates the concept of transcending the body itself, displaying armor and mechanical prosthetics used for the first time during the Renaissance to replace limbs lost in war and reinforcing the body’s role as a place of experimentation, metamorphosis, and transformation. Furthermore, gesture, expression, and physical exercise were, in this context, tools to shape the body beyond its natural state.

Corpi moderni invites visitors on a journey into the body of the early modern era, exploring ways of thinking often mistakenly considered exclusive to our time. The exhibition connects audiences to questions that dominate both contemporary and historical science, art, and mythology: the nature and future of humanity, sexuality and reproduction, beauty and aging, the boundaries of the human, and identity itself.

A comprehensive catalog of the exhibition is being published by Marsilio Arte, edited by Giulio Manieri Elia, Guido Beltramini, and Francesca Borgo, featuring essays by leading international and Italian experts.

The exhibition is promoted and organized by the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia and Marsilio Arte, with the contribution of the Regione del Veneto and the support of Associazione dei Comitati Privati Internazionali per la Salvaguardia di Venezia, through which contributions were made by Scuola Piccola Zattere, Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, Venetian Heritage, Save Venice, Comitato Austriaco Venedig Lebt, Associazione Amici dei Musei e Monumenti Veneziani.

 

 

Tickets:  Adults 20,00€, reduced 2,00€. For all other reductions, visit the web page Agevolazioni per l'ingresso nei luoghi della cultura of Ministero della Cultura.

 

We kindly inform our visitors that, for conservation purposes, the viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing Study of the Proportions of the Human Body, commonly known as the Vitruvian Man, is timed.
 
The drawing is visible for 20 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of darkening, achieved by lowering a curtain.
 

EXHIBITION CORPI MODERNI OPENING TIMES

On Mondays 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Last admission 12:30 PM

Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM 

(Last admission 5:30 PM)

 

Guided tours

🧑Guided Tours for adults

🔒Exclusive tours at doors closed

👨‍🎓Guided tours labs for school groups:

Press office

Marsilio Arte | Giovanna Ambrosano: g.ambrosano@marsilioarte.it;

 

Gallerie dell’Accademia

Venezia, Campo della Carità 1050

www.gallerieaccademia.it 

 

Leonardo da Vinci

LEONARDO DA VINCI. THE HUMAN BEING AS A BLUE-PRINT FOR THE COSMOS

The Gallerie dell'Accademia celebrates the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death (1519-2019) with an exhibition entitled Leonardo da Vinci. Luomo modello del mondo, open to the public from 17 April to 14 July 2019. The museum’s collection includes 25 autograph sheets with manuscripts and drawings by Leonardo, offering a unique overview of his projects and documenting his scientific research on subjects spanning from the proportions of the human body to physics, optics, mechanics, and weapon design, as well as a few preparatory drawings for paintings such as the famous Battle of Anghiari and Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.
The most prominent drawing is certainly the Uomo Vitruviano, or Vitruvian Man, which has come to symbolise the classical perfection of body and mind, a human-scale microcosm mirroring the entire universe.
Through Leonardo’s drawings, as well as those by his pupils and followers, the exhibition retraces the key stages of the polymath’s life, starting from two early sketches on the theme of an adoration of the shepherds and encompassing the splendid Three Dancing Female Figures which was completed during his time in France; that is, the years prior to his death in Amboise on 2 May 1519.
A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to Leonardo’s studies on proportions and anatomy. This section focuses on the Vitruvian Man, displaying the work alongside extremely valuable sheets from Windsor as well as pages from the Codex Huygens, on special loan from the Morgan Library in New York City.
A striking journey through Leonardo’s life and work, the exhibition displays over 70 works, including 35 drawings by Leonardo himself.

Promoter:

Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia in a collaboration with Associazione Metamorfosi, Rome, Italy

Location:

Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, Campo della Carità 1050, 30123 Venice, Italy

Dates:

17 April to 14 July 2019

Opening hours:

Monday: 8.15 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday to Sunday: 8.15 a.m. to 7.15 p.m.

Admission Information:

Tickets: €15.00 (€12.00 + €3.00 for the temporary exhibition)

Visitors aged 18–25: €3.50 (€2.00 + €1.50 for the temporary exhibition) 

Information on concessionary rates and free admission

 

Curators:

Annalisa Perissa Torrini and Valeria Poletto

Exhibition Catalogue:

Annalisa Perissa Torrini

 

Press Office 

Metamorfosi

Maria Grazia Filippi 

T: +39 06 83 600 145/146

M: +39 333 207 5323

Email:

mariagraziafilippi@associazionemetamorfosi.com

 

CLP Relazioni Pubbliche
Clara Cervia | T: +39 02 3675 5700 | clara.cervia@clp1968.it | www.clp1968.it

 

www.gallerieaccademia.it

facebook | instagram

@gallerieaccademiavenezia

 

This exhibition is part of the initiatives coordinated by the National Committee for the Celebrations of the 500th Anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s Death.

Explore the full calendar of events: www.leonardocinquecento.it

 

Discover all of the events on the occasion of the Leonardo da Vinci. L’uomo modello del mondo exhibition.

FREE GUIDED TOURS

GUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLS

LABS FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

 

Press kit: 

Cartella Stampa – Leonardo da Vinci. L'uomo modello del mondo.pdf

 

The Dorsoduro Museum Mile tours

The Dorsoduro Museum Mile tours

9-30 june 2025


The special tours of the Dorsoduro Museum mile museums are back! Every Monday of June at 12:00 PM, an unforgettable occasion to visit the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, Palazzo Cini Gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and Punta della Dogana led by the Directors and Curators. Four events exploring the themes of space and architecture through the great masterpieces of art.

The first event will take you through the exhibition Corpi Moderni. The Construction of the Body in Renaissance Venice. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione, conducted by Director Giulio Manieri Elia.

 

How to join

Participation in the Dorsoduro Museum Mile Guides tours is free of charge, subject to availability, and included in the entrance ticket. We look forward to seeing you on June 9 in the hall of the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia a few minutes before 12:00 PM.

Events calendar

  • June 9 – Gallerie dell’Accademia
  • June 16 – Galleria di Palazzo Cini
  • June 23 – Peggy Guggenheim Collection
  • June 30 – Punta della Dogana

 

More information
 

Visit the Dorsoduro Museum Mile page for more info about the museum network of the Dorsoduro Venetian district. Furthermore, follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on events and activities.