Workshop

Palazzo Venezia, the historic residence of Popes and ambassadors, is also a precious artistic and architectural record of the Renaissance. Visits explore the decorations and frescoes in the sumptuous  Sala del Mappamondo, the monumental Sala Regia and Giorgio Vasari’s stunning ceiling in the Sala Altoviti, illustrating a universe of knowledge, materials and techniques applied by the workshops of the Renaissance artists. After directly observing decorative forms and ornamental details, in the workshop the students will experiment with trompe l’oeil and spolvero techniques plus the working of stucco with plaster.

Palazzo Venezia Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118

This visit is centred on the Palazzo Venezia collections: from works by Giorgione and Vasari to Bernini’s terracotta studies, from old apothecary majolica jars to small 18th-century bronzes, Oriental porcelain and the armoury of Prince Odescalchi. The tour follows in the footsteps of Athanasius Kircher and his scattered cabinet of curiosities, revisiting the exotic tastes of modern collectors and narrating the work and persona of Federico Hermanin, the first director of the Museo di Palazzo Venezia. At the workshop, students will design themed collections in which to “orchestrate” artistic works, objects and materials.

Palazzo Venezia Biglietteria di Palazzo Venezia, ingresso via del Plebiscito n. 118

On the slopes of the Capitoline Hill in the heart of Rome is a Renaissance Palazzo that resembles a fortress. Its crenelated walls encompass a 19th-century garden populated with parrots, tall palm trees, magnolias and plants from all four corners of the world. Immersed in the verdant rediscovered garden of Palazzo Venezia and surrounded by the plays of light that form amid the flowers, the trees and the water of a splendid marble fountain, students will observe the nature all around them, recording every change in light and colour, and experiment with the practice of en plain air painting, as did the Impressionist artists.

Palazzo Venezia Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118

Starting with some of the portraits in the Museum's rooms, such as The Orsini Children or Giorgione's Double Portrait, the visit will focus on the room with the pastels donated by George and Henrietta Wurts.  Participants will be able to make a drawing, a pencil sketch of a portrait of their choice, and later, in the workshop, they will be able to try their hand at the pastel technique and its nuances, reworking and completing what they drew in the room.

Palazzo Venezia

This is how Giorgio Vasari defined drawing in the "Lives", emphasizing its importance in the construction of a work of art, be it architecture, sculpture or painting.
A brief excursus on the history of drawing through the works in the picture gallery will be followed by a workshop divided into two phases.
At first, in the Altoviti room, participants will make a sanguine or charcoal sketch on dusting paper, observing from life some details of the grotesques painted by Vasari. They will thus be able to experience firsthand both the materials and the Renaissance artist's method of study and actively understand how important graphic art is for studying reality and at the same time expressing one's inner ideas.
Later in the workshop, the work will be finished through learning the techniques of shading and highlighting using white chalks. 

Palazzo Venezia