I'm ceding the floor in this post to my friends Maddine Insalaco and Joe Vinson, who have organized, along with Alison Kurke and Emanuele Rossini, a show in Civita Castellana this fall of modern plein air artists who have worked in this part of northern Lazio so beloved of Corot and others. Please do try to come and see what should be a wonderful exhibit.
“Through Foreign Eyes: Civita Castellana by Artists Past and Present” (Con gli occhi degli artisti stranieri)
Exhibition to be held from 19 -26 September 2012
American artist painting at Civita Castellana 2007
Curated by Maddine Insalaco, Joe Vinson, Emanuele Rossini, Alison Kurke
Before the introduction of the automobile and construction of modern highways, most overland travelers to and from Rome along the Via Flaminia passed through Civita Castellana. In the 18th and 19th centuries the town became a favorite destination for international artists seeking places of exceptional natural beauty with local hospitality, and it was immortalized in the numerous works they produced. Today it is rare that anyone, including Italians, has even heard of Civita Castellana except in the context of sanitary wares. Yet, the interest by foreign artists has continued through the centuries to the present day. Originally motivated by a curiosity about the open air painting tradition in Civita Castellana, contemporary painters have acquired a genuine appreciation of the territory that will be formally shared with the public in this proposed exhibition. Between reproductions of historic paintings now located in museums throughout the world and original paintings by professional artists, the exhibition will comprise between sixty and one hundred images of Civita Castellana.
