Canova in the Palladian Wing

The Gallerie dell’Accademia is a museum of pre-19th century art in Venice. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the bank of the Grand Canal, near the Accademia bridge. It was originally the gallery of the Art Academy of Venice and it was founded in 1750.

 The Gallerie dell’Accademia contain masterpieces of Venetian painting up to the 18th century including artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Canaletto, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Longhi, Lotto, Tiepolo, Veronese. The cabinet of drawings of the Accademia Galleries also includes the worldwide famous Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci.

Thanks to the supporto of Friends of Venice Italy Inc. and Venice International Foundation, and of the British committee Venice in Peril Fund, seven new rooms in the Palladio wing of the Gallerie dell’Accademia were opened in January 2016.

Now, visitors are be able to see the casts and original models from Canova’s studio in Rome, a number of which had not been accessible to the public before, together with works by other artists, such as Francesco Hayez and Giovanni De Min. Their work present the history of Venice and its contribution to the arts at a particularly significant period when the influential and energetic Leopoldo Cicognara, biographer of Canova, was the president of the Art Academy.