Corpi moderni.
Corpi moderni.
The Making of the Body in Renaissance Venice. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione
Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice are pleased to present the exhibition Modern Bodies. The Construction of the Body in Renaissance Venice, which will be open from 4 April to 27 July 2025. The exhibition offers an exploration of the conception of the human body in Renaissance Venice, examining how, for the first time, the body was seen as an object of scientific study, desire and individual expression. The Renaissance represents a crucial phase in which the body is no longer just a biological reality, but a cultural element, shaped by science, art and social conventions.
The exhibition brings together extraordinary works of art, many of which are on display for the first time in Italy, with drawings, paintings and sculptures from the most prestigious national and international museums and collections, including masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albrecht Dürer, Titian, Giorgione and Giovanni Bellini. Alongside these, there are scientific instruments, anatomical models, books, clothes, miniatures and everyday objects, which tell the story of the evolution of thought and culture regarding the human body.
The exhibition is divided into three main sections. The first, The body revealed: knowing, explores how the human body was discovered as an object of scientific and medical study, with Padua and Venice as reference centers in Europe. In this section, for the first time in six years, Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man will be visible, alongside an ancient Greek metrological relief, prompting reflections on the concept of measure and ideal. The second section, The naked body: desiring, explores the representation of the body as an object of gaze and desire, with the naked female body depicted as Venus reclining in the landscape and the lyrical, suffering and sublime male body, exemplified in saints and biblical heroes. Symbolic objects related to reproduction and family are also on display, such as chests and birth trays, and magnificent portraits of young brides that evoke a regulated eroticism. Furthermore, there is an enigmatic work by Titian, The Lovers, recently interpreted as a symbol of the nuptial bond, together with a unique copy of the Sonnets of Lust by Pietro Aretino and a valuable 16th-century women's bonnet.
The third section, The Constructed Body: Representing Oneself, illustrates how the body has been used as a tool for cultural representation. Clothes, surgical treatises, and body care accessories are exhibited, reflecting the need to conform to social models through definitive symbols and ornaments of masculinity and femininity. Among the objects of beauty, a rare 16th-century casket stands out, a kind of “make-up box” of the time, containing mirrors, perfumes, and other personal care tools. In addition, the exhibition also explores the transformation of the body through armor and mechanical prostheses, early Renaissance experiments to replace limbs lost in war, symbolizing the body as a field of metamorphosis and innovation.
Modern Bodies is not only a journey through the body culture of the Renaissance, but also an opportunity to reflect on universal themes that still concern the nature of humanity, sexuality, beauty, aging, and identity.
For more information visit the official website: www.gallerieaccademia.it/en
