A Cabinet Of Wonders, Museo di Palazzo Grimani I Photo: Matteo De Fina
A Cabinet of Wonders: A Celebration of Art in Nature is the title of the original exhibition of the George Loudon Collection, curated by Thierry Morel and Valeria Finocchi, promoted by the Musei Archeologici Nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna and hosted in the splendid spaces of Palazzo Grimani, an incredible example of Tuscan-Roman Renaissance architecture in Venice. The exhibition, whose layout is articulated through the rooms of the palace and also includes the reconstruction of a 17th-century Wunderkammer, translates into a fascinating dialogue between the Grimani family's historical passion for collecting and George Loudon's contemporary vision, celebrating art, science and the curiosity of collectors through the centuries. The exhibition presents a unique selection of 19th-century scientific specimens from the George Loudon Collection, including a wide variety of objects originally made by skilled craftsmen for educational purposes, flanked in the first part of the exhibition by a multitude of evocative treasures from the 17th-century Wunderkammern, including rare specimens, natural curiosities, paintings, bronzes, antiquities and masterpieces of the decorative arts.