Inventing Nature — Leonardo, Arcimboldo, Caravaggio

Nature between Art and Science

Inventing Nature is the exhibition that the Palazzo Te Foundation is staging in the halls of the renowned Renaissance palace in Mantua. Curated by Barbara Furlotti and Guido Rebecchini, it investigates how 16th-century artists viewed nature as a phenomenon to be studied, reproduced, and reinvented through art, science, and technique.

Seven Sections, Over Seventy Works

The exhibition is divided into seven thematic sections — Creating, Destroying, Surprising, Knowing, Reproducing, Astonishing, and Animating — spread across various rooms of the palace, including the Chamber of the Giants and the Chamber of the Grotesques. Over seventy works are on display: paintings, sculptures, drawings, automata, and Renaissance scientific instruments.

The Great Masters

The exhibition features masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and Caravaggio, alongside works by Annibale and Agostino Carracci, Jacopo Bassano, Bartolomeo Passerotti, and others. Among the most notable works are Leonardo's storm drawings, Caravaggio's Self-Portrait as Bacchus, and Arcimboldo's famous vegetal compositions. The exhibition design is by AMDL Circle and Michele De Lucchi, with a catalogue published by Marsilio.

The 500th Anniversary of Palazzo Te

The exhibition is part of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of Palazzo Te, the masterpiece that Giulio Romano created in Mantua (Province of Mantua) for Federico II Gonzaga. The works engage directly with the palace's frescoes, creating a journey where ancient and Renaissance art mirror each other.