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The show
From 1 February to 30 June 2020, the Palazzo Te Foundation in collaboration with Electa, presents Giulio Romano Experience: set up in the monumental rooms of Palazzo Te in Mantua, the multimedia exhibition, designed and created by Punto Rec Studios and Visivalab, will involve the visitor in a spectacular path, retracing the figure and career of the artist from Rome to Mantua, from Mantua to Europe.
Giulio Romano, genius of the Renaissance, Raphael's favorite pupil, eclectic artist, arrived in Mantua in 1524 called by Federico II Gonzaga, for whom he created his masterpiece: Palazzo Te.
In the exhibition itinerary, Giulio's life is told in stages through the innovative languages of multimedia: virtual reality viewers, augmented reality screens, high definition projectors, proximity audio will allow the viewer to enter the artist's workshop and experience the atmosphere of one of the most renowned European Renaissance courts, discovering the secrets of the architectural and pictorial work of the famous Master of Mannerism.
The story unfolds in three different narrative environments. The first is dedicated to Giulio Romano and wonder as a purpose in art: an evocative narration in images traces the entire career of Giulio, from the first workshop tests by Raphael to the architectural and painting masterpieces of the Mantuan period, up to the diffusion of his style in Italy and Europe. The next room focuses on Palazzo Te and on the refined Renaissance narrative device implemented by the Master and his workshop. The third and last room has the purpose of enhancing Mantua and the "marks" left by Giulio Romano. The artist and the city are closely connected. When in 1526, while he was building Palazzo Te, he was appointed prefect of the factories of the Gonzagas and "superior of the urban streets", which gave him the qualification of supervising all the architectures and artistic productions of the court, he carried out an extensive work such as painter and architect, marked by a decorative pomp and a taste for wonder and ingenious and bizarre artifice that marked the city.
The exhibition dialogues with the new multimedia path of the Palazzo: thanks to a careful study of the historical documentation and the experience in the application of the latest technologies in the cultural heritage sector, the public can take advantage of a virtual reality station that allows you to undertake a trip with Giulio Romano in the history of the building. In post-production, the collected images of all the spaces were processed, divided by layer and through motion graphics: Giulio Romano's drawings thus resume life and volume.
Some examples: the fresco depicting Palazzo Te in Ovid's room was elaborated in an immersive 360 ° image which, preserving the texture and the brushstrokes of the author and respecting the historical-artistic documentation, allows you to enter the painting feeling immersed in the landscape. There are boats, characters and trees blowing in the wind.
A similar work was done in the Chamber of the Giants: Jupiter throwing lightning bolts from Olympus was animated and redesigned in every single frame, following the artist's original drawings. In post-production then everything was elaborated and animated to arrive at a total immersion in the majestic and tragic scene of the fall of the Giants. Thanks to virtual reality technology, the visitor can see Giulio Romano's original project in the study of his drawings. The 3D processing of maps and floor plans allows you to see Palazzo Te as it appeared to visitors of the time, before man, history and time changed its structures and the insular landscape that surrounded it. Furthermore, for the first time in heritage projects, virtual reality is accompanied by 360 ° sound effects so as to completely immerse the visitor and transport him through time, sounds and space to discover this marvel, Palazzo Te.
Giulio Romano Experience is part of the Giulio Romano è Palazzo Te program of exhibitions and events, which includes the new multimedia itinerary of the museum and the large exhibition Giulio Romano: Arte e Desiderio (until January 6, 2020). The project is promoted by the Municipality of Mantua, produced and organized by the Palazzo Te Foundation with the Electa publishing house; with the contribution of the Lombardy Region, the Mantua Chamber of Commerce, the Banca Agricola Mantovana Foundation, the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank, the Cariverona Foundation, the Comunità Mantovana Onlus Foundation; with the support of the technical sponsors Aermec, Smeg; and with the support of Amici di Palazzo Te and the Mantovani Museums, Agroittica Lombarda.
