From Friday 25th March 2016 in Palazzo Fava – Exhibition Centre of Bologna
Genus Bononiae houses the Exhibition
Held by some to be a story-teller, by others to be the only artist capable of creating a “freeze frame” of a panorama or a human life. It was Rdward Hopper himself (1882-1967) – the best known and popular American artist of the 20th century – a reserved, taciturn man and a lover of sea views and of the bright light in his spacious studio, who best explained his poetics: “if I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” The exhibition Edward Hopper, open from 25 March to 24 July at Palazzo Fava – Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Bologna, organized by Arthemisia Group, Fondazione Carisbo, Genus Bononiae. Museums in the City and with the Comune di Bologna and in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art of New York, covers the whole span of the output of the celebrated American Artist. From the Parisian watercolors to the landscapes and cityscaps of the 1950s and 1960s, the exhibition curated by Barbara Haskell – curator of painting and sculpture at the Whitney Museum fo American Art – in collaboration with Luca Beatrice, showcases Hopper’s skill as a draftsman through more than 60 works, including celebrated masterpieces such as South Carolina Morning (1955), Second Story Sunlight (1960), New York Interior (1921), Le Bistro or the Wine Shop (1909), and extremely interesting studies like the study for Girlie Show, (1941): a path that takes in all the phases of his output and all the technique semployed by an artist who is now considered to be a great master of 20th century painting.
THE ARTIST
Born and raised in Nyack – a small town in New York state – Hopper studied for a brief period illustration and then painting at the New York School of Art with the legendary masters William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri. He went to Europe three times (from 1906 to 1907, in 1909 and then in 1910) and in particular the experiences in Paris left an indelible mark on his life, fostering that Francophile feeling that never abandoned him, even after he definitely settled in New Yok, from 1913.
Despite his powerful physical presence (he was very tall), he was famous for his reticence, he wrote and talked very little of his work. He died aged 84, his art enjoyed the appreciation of critic and public throughout his career, despite the successes of the new avant-garde movements, from Surrealism to abstract Expressionism, to Pop art.
In 1948 Look magazine labeled him one of the best American painters; in 1950 the Whitney Museum organised an important retrospective about him and in 1956 Time magazine dedicated its cover to the artist.
In 1967, the year of his death, he represented the United States at the prestigious São Paolo Art Biennal.
From then on Hopper’s art has been celebrated in different exhibitions and has inspired numerous painters, poets and directors. John Updike, in an essay of 1995, defined his paintings as “calm, silent, stoic, bright, classical”.
Opening Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.00 - 20.00
Building
via Manzoni 2, Bologna
Admission tickets
Full ticket € 13,00
Reduced ticket € 11,00
Click here to see all the reduced tickets.
Every Monday students with a current student ID (aged between 19-26) can enjoy a special reduction to visit Palazzo Fava: € 8
Groups € 11,00
Booking is required, min 15 max 25 paticipants, obligatory microphone equipment
Schools/Children € 5,00
Children aged 4-11 not yet turned (audio guide included)
Schools, booking is required, min 15 max 25 participants
Free Admission
Click here to see all the categories that have free admission to the museum.
BOOKING FEE
Groups and individuals € 1,50
Schools € 1,00 per student
Online Tickets
Educational Services
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Framing - Exhibition tour and workshop
Sunday 17 April: Framing activity. After the exhibition tour, the theme analyzed will be the one of gazing as the real objective that decides how to set the image in a certain way. In the laboratory, set up to represent the painting Second Story Sunlight (1960), the educator will explain to the classroom the importance of observing and how each thing can change when looked in a certain way, just like Hopper’s eyes were able to do. Each child will have to decide how to observe in order to start their personale vision, searching for a different point of view of the framing. Once this phase is concluded, each child will have to paint what their observation has investigated through the guided vision.
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Suitable for
Primary schools, lower and upper secondary schools. The activity is also suitable for families
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Length
About 1.30 hours
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Cost
Schools € 80 each class. Families € 5 each child – € 100 each family-group. Activity in a foreign language: € 110 for schools and family-groups.
What sound does silence make? - Animated exhibition visit
Sunday 15 May: An exhibition tour to examine one of the most important theme of the artist’s poetic: silence. The operator will lead the tour emphasasing some of the most significant paintings. Each child will be given a paper filled with some clues: What sound can the woman standing at the door hear? What can be perceived from that room’s window? Is it possible to hear a car approaching from that road? Each suggestion will be both written and spoken, so that each child will be able to observe the painting focusing on the artwork’s atmosphere.
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Suitable for
Primary schools, lower and upper secondary schools. The activity is also suitable for families.
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Length
About 1.30 hour
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Cost
€ 80 each class. Families € 5 each child – € 100 for family-groups. Activity in a foreign language: € 110 for schools and family-groups.
From my window - Exhibition tour and workshop
Sunday 19 June: The exhibition tour will be followed by a workshop in the laboratory. The theme treated will be the one of light and the key role that it plays in Hopper’s art. Each child will be given an A3 cardboard previously painted according to the artworks Cape Code Sunset and Second Story Sunlight. Instead of windows and doors there will be blanks in which each child will have to draw what they imagine through those holes. A light will then be placed on the back of the cardboard. In this way the light’s glimmer will illuminate the cardboard’s doors and windows highlighting the scenes drawn by the children. Thus, light will give life to the drawings, just like it happens in the artist’s paintings.
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Suitable for
Infant schools (5 year-olds), primary schools, lower and upper secondary schools. The activity is also suitable for families.
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Length
About 1.30-2 hours
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Cost
€ 80 each classroom. Families € 5 each child – € 100 each family-group. Activity in a foreign language: € 110 for schools and family-groups.
Like in a movie - Exhibition tour and workshop
Sunday 17 July: An exhibition tour followed by a workshop in the laboratory where the link between Hopper and cinema will be examined. Each child will be given a story board previously elaborated with some clues: some images of the paintings together with some suggestions will be included. Children, using their imagination, will have to complete the story board using images, searching for a title, deciding which type of movie they want to create (crime, comedy, etc.) and its soundtrack.
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Suitable for
Lower and upper secondary schools. Primary schools. The activity is also suitable for families.
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Length
About 1.30-2 hours
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Cost
€ 80 each class / Families € 5 each child – € 100 for family-groups. Activity in a foreign language: € 110 for schools and family-groups.
Programme for adults - Edward Hopper
The educational services propose simple exhibition tours in order to examine both the themes and the artworks on display. The operator will be glad to briefly explain, upon request, the history of the building that houses the exhibition: Palazzo Fava. Exhibition centre that represents a unique historic and artistic location of the city.
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Length
About 1.30 hours
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Cost
Schools € 80. Family groups/adults: € 100. Visit in a foreign language (schools/adults): € 110. Activity in a foreign language: € 110 for schools and family-groups.
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Extraordinary openings
Sunday 27th March 10.00 – 20.00
Monday 28th March 10.00 – 20.00
Monday 25th April 10.00 – 20.00
Sunday 1st May 10.00 – 20.00
Thursday 2nd June 10.00 – 20.00
- hopper@genusbononiae.it
- +39 051 0301089
- from Monday to Friday 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.