On November 8, 2024, the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in China, inaugurated an important exhibition dedicated to the Italian art of restoration, with the famous work Maddalena in Ecstasy at its centre. by Caravaggio. After being exhibited in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and subsequently in Chengdu, China, the work now arrives in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The exhibition, set up at the prestigious National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square, will be open to visitors until March 2025. The inauguration was preceded by a seminar which saw the participation of renowned restorer Cinzia Pasquali, who illustrated to the Chinese public the advanced techniques and scientific heritage of Italian restoration used to bring Caravaggio’s work back to lifethe fulcrum of this important exhibition.
The exhibition celebrates the great Italian tradition in the field of restoration and diagnostic technologies applied to art, putting Artemisia Gentileschi, The Penitent Magdalene, at the center, which uses the most advanced technologies to reveal every detail and nuance with unparalleled precision. Thanks to the processing of thousands of very high resolution images, it was possible to create a digital replica that not only offers a unique immersive experiencebut also guarantees continuous control over the authenticity and the state of synergy between digital technologies and traditional restoration methods ensures that masterpieces such as those by Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi can be admired in their complete beauty, remaining intact for future generations.
Pier Francesco Jelmoni – Co-Founder Way Experience
The public will also be able to enjoy a virtual reality experience, curated by the Italian company Way Experience, already known for its contribution to the exhibition “Journey of Knowledge. Marco Polo’s Million between East and West”, ongoing at the Millennium Museum in Beijing until the end of November. This new immersive experience allows you to delve into Caravaggio’s lifeexploring the places and events that influenced his art. The narrative, organized as a long flashback, is conducted in the first person by the artist himself, who relives memories and moments of great intensity. The content is narrated in the first person by the artist, through vivid and intense memories. The experience is enriched by two exclusives: an immersive “wunderkammer” of Caravaggio’s works exhibited at the Galleria Borghese and the connection with the film “The Shadow of Caravaggio”, which includes short scenes and songs from the soundtrack.
Caravaggio VR Experience is a WAY Experience and Goldenart Production production, in partnership with Wellsee, with the support of Galleria Borghese. The Valvitalia Spa company is the sole sponsor of the VR content.
A third section describes the restoration of some iconic works, calligraphies and paintings, preserved and restored by the National Museum of China; among these also a painting by the famous Italian Jesuit, painter and architect, Giuseppe Castiglione.
Finally, there is a section dedicated to describing and enhancing the cultural relations between Italy and China; in particular the exchange of exhibitions between Italian museum institutions and the National Museum of China and the decades-long cooperation in the field of restoration and conservation of cultural heritage.