SERENISSIMA!

As if to avert its decline, which was cemented by its surrender to Napoléon in 1797 following a millennium of independence, Venice hosted a number of celebrations and other shows that attracted both enthusiasts and the curious from all over Europe. Far from being purely idle amusement, these festivities were a form of veritable political and religious stagecraft to bolster the image of the Most Serene Republic. Venice consecrated its attachment to the Catholic Church and aristocratic power through large celebrations in the city’s most emblematic locations, from St Mark’s Square to the Grand Canal. However, even more than the regatta or Venice’s Marriage with the Sea ceremony, the Carnival is the event that made the city’s reputation as a place of enjoyment. In parallel to the 2017 Carnival of Venice, the Cognacq-Jay Museum is bringing the Floating City’s biggest celebrations back to life through sixty or so works from Tiepolo, Guardi, Canaletto, and Longhi, on loan from the most important French and international institutions.CURATORS : Benjamin Couilleaux, conservateur du patrimoine au musée Cognacq-Jay, Rose-Marie Herda-Mousseaux, conservateur en chef du patrimoine, directrice du musée Cognacq-Jay

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