The exhibition “Vittorio Corcos: Portraits and Dreams”, curated by Prof. Carlo Sisi, is organized by Pallavicini s.r.l., led by Chiara Campagnoli, Deborah Petroni, and Rubens Fogacci. Over 40 monumental works, divided into six sections, trace the presence of the painter Vittorio Matteo Corcos (Livorno, 1859 – Florence, 1933) within the cultural and figurative context from the second half of the 19th century to the first three decades of the following century.
Considered an innovator in realistic portraiture, Corcos was a student of Domenico Morelli and a close friend of De Nittis, whose Parisian salon he frequently attended. He is regarded as one of the most esteemed interpreters of the emotions and customs of the Belle Époque.
The most famous women of the time are the undisputed protagonists of Corcos’ portraits, distinguished by the delicacy of the lines, the almost photographic attention to detail in the depiction of objects and luxurious fabrics, as well as the psychological depth in their gazes, which imparts a mysterious magnetism to the subjects. For this reason, the women painted by Corcos were described as creatures possessing something of both the ghost and the flower.
The world of aristocratic and upper-bourgeois femininity finds perfect representation in the precious portrait of soprano and film actress Lina Cavalieri — whom Gabriele D’Annunzio regarded as “the ultimate embodiment of Venus on earth” — which is featured among the works displayed at Palazzo Pallavicini. Corcos’ work also includes landscapes bathed in the light of the Livorno coast, reflecting his connection to naturalism and genre painting, but his fame remains tied to his depictions of women, especially his most intriguing and controversial portrayal of a woman with a thoughtful, introverted gaze. This painting, considered too explicit at the time due to its bold and unconventional pose, is titled Dreams and was immediately acquired by the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome following significant public and critical attention.
The selected works come from the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, the Uffizi Galleries, the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan, the Giovanni Fattori Civic Museum and the Goldoni Art Gallery in Livorno, the Livorno Foundation, the Society of Fine Arts and the Matteucci Institute in Viareggio, the 19th-century Art Studio in Livorno and the 19th-century gallery in Milan, the Academy of Fine Arts and the University Museum System of the University of Bologna, the Franco Maria Ricci Collection, and other private collections.
