Until January 12, 2026, Ca’ Rezzonico – Museo del Settecento Veneziano presents the exhibition “Album Cicognara”, curated by Alberto Craievich, part of the Gusto Neoclassico series. The exhibition brings to light one of the most extraordinary testimonies of Italian neoclassical art and culture preserved in the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
Named after its illustrious owner, Count Leopoldo Cicognara (Ferrara, 1767 – Venice, 1834), the album reflects the intellectual fervor of a man who was both a scholar and a driving force in Venice’s artistic renewal. President of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia from 1808 to 1826, Cicognara championed the arts during a period of profound transformation, authoring major works such as the History of Sculpture and The Most Conspicuous Factories of Venice.
Comprising 81 pages, the album serves as a liber amicorum—a book of friendships—gathering drawings from the most celebrated artists of the time. Among them are Vincenzo Camuccini, Andrea Appiani, Giuseppe Bossi, Francesco Hayez, and six exquisite sheets by Antonio Canova, Cicognara’s lifelong friend and the embodiment of neoclassical ideals. French masters such as François-Marius Granet and Louis Léopold Robert also feature, underscoring the collector’s international network.
Rendered in pencil, ink, chalk, and watercolor, these works encompass portraits, landscapes, studies, and genre scenes—each a window into the artistic dialogue of an era. Meticulously restored with support from the Venice International Foundation, the Album Cicognara is now unveiled to the public in its entirety for the first time in nearly fifty years—a rare opportunity to rediscover the refined spirit and cosmopolitan vision of Neoclassicism in Venice.
Website: www.visitmuve.it
Location: Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice
Schedule: until January 12, 2026
