Homecoming. The rediscovered works of the Thun collection

Matteo’s room at Castel Thun is elegant and intimate drawing room, furnished with pieces designed by the Brescian architect, Rodolfo Vantini, for the luxurious palace of the family in Trento. Captured in an idealised moment of conversation, the portraits of Matteo, his first wife, Raimondina Thurn-Hofer and Valsassina, of Carolina Arsio, his second wife, and that of  his mother, Violante Martinengo Cesaresco, are posed in seeming dialogue within an affective moment, reflecting their shared political and cultural interests that are influenced by the contemporary Venetiasn and Lombard artistic, literary and musical “avant-garde” movements. These are works that, with refined critical understanding, brought to the Thun residence reflections of the artistic developments of Venice and Milan in the first half of the 1800s, and were presented in exhibitions at the Venetian Academy and in Brera. It was at the 1835 exhibition in Milan that Count Matteo commissioned two exquisite glass paintings by Tommaso Castellini that exempify the same romantic style that the artist brought to the interior design of the town house.

In the same rooms, and in Castel Thun, works by Giovanni Pock, Ludovico Lipparini and Ferdinando Bassi relate an autobiography of the family and, at the same time, demontrate the evolution of artistic styles, from Neoclassicism to Romanticism.

Central to the exhibition is the marble bust of Raimondina, a masterpiece executed in 1841-1842 (a few months after her death), by the Venetian sculptor, Luigi Ferrari. This work immortalises Matteo’s beloved wife who was “enthusiastic about the nation, a friend to culture and protector of the arts”. Recently purchased for the public heritage, this exhibition returns these works of art to Castel Thun.

Source: Castello del Buonconsiglio