volti nel Volto: art, history and spirituality
Renaissance and Caravaggesque paintings, splendid drawings that are not generally on display to the public, and delightful multi-media installations: these are the ingredients that make up volti nel Volto, the exhibition organised by the Carlo Acutis Foundation, in collaboration with the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti and with the support of the Council for Artistic and Cultural Heritage.
Installed in the heart of the Pinacoteca Albertina in Turin and coinciding with the European meeting of the Taizé Community, held in the city from 7 to 10 July 2022, volti nel Volto offered young people the experience of a journey through art focused on the Holy Face of Jesus. In addition to learning more about the theme of the face of Christ by observing tens of works created between the 15th and 20th centuries, young people also had the opportunity to take part in educational workshops conducted by the Accademia.
The exhibition was inaugurated on 6 July and remained open until 16 October.
Pinacoteca
The Pinacoteca dell’Accademia Albertina is not an ordinary museum, but a treasure chest of artworks and an artists’ workshop! The trestles in the rooms allow for copies of the paintings and sculptures to be made.
During the volti nel Volto exhibition, the students painted on mirror surfaces. This created a meaningful effect, in which the other paintings in the room were reflected in the mirror, allowing visitors to “step into the work”, immediately realising that the expressions and the gestures that have been depicted in paintings for centuries are the same ones each one of us can see in our everyday lives.
The exhibition engages with the image on the Turin Shroud, which has provided a great deal on inspiration through the centuries for how the face of Christ has been portrayed. The works on display include Salvator Mundi, Divine Mercy and the sketches by Gaudenzio Ferrari and his apprentices, one of the world’s most important collections of preparatory drawings from the Renaissance period.
The Foundation
Inspired by the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the mission of the Foundation is to promote, develop and coordinate activities in the public interest, with the aim of restoring dignity and hope to people in difficulty, taking care of the local area with projects to provide support for social issues and culture, in particular regarding historical and artistic heritage and scientific research for social purposes. The Foundation seeks to make every life count, especially those of young people.
