Exhibitions
LEOPOLI QUI. La Cultura della Pace
The partnership with the Ukrainian National Museum in Lviv dates from last year, when we started up a conversation between museums about the conservation of works of art in wartime.
This cooperation with the Accademia Carrara continues today with the exhibition in Bergamo of two sculptures by the artist Franciszek Olenski (c. 1745-1792) from the collection of the museum in Lviv.
From Lviv to Bergamo
The partnership with the Ukrainian National Museum in Lviv dates from last year, when we started up a conversation between museums about the conservation of works of art in wartime.
This cooperation with the Accademia Carrara continues today with the exhibition in Bergamo of two sculptures by the artist Franciszek Olenski from the collection of the museum in Lviv. It highlights the fact that, even in the particularly difficult period that Ukraine is going through, culture remains essential for understanding and interaction. In a spirit of mutual support, we are preparing right now to continue our dialogue with the museum in Lviv once the war is over.
War is an insult to beauty, which must always be protected.
Art can play a key role as a harbinger of peace and, with this cultural initiative, the Accademia Carrara intends to be an ambassador for this important message.
Franciszek Olenski
Sandro Botticelli - 1505 - 1560
The two Angels were formerly in the church of the Holy Trinity in Berestechko, which was governed by the Order of Trinitarians. In 1733 the church was consecrated as the Church of the Holy Trinity and of St John the Baptist.
In the late 1770s, the Trinitarians decided to transform the interior of the church entirely, with the construction of a new high altar.
The sculptural decoration, which included the two wooden angels, was entrusted to Franciszek Olenski.
After the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided, Berestechko ended up under Russia. In 1832 the Russian authorities closed the monastery attached to the church.
The interior of the church was damaged under Russian domination and in 1943 a mortar shell struck and destroyed the roof.
In the 1960s, most of the church furnishings were destroyed and the sculptures were left exposed to the elements.
The sanctuary gradually deteriorated after 1943 but in 1973 a small selection of the sculptures was saved by a research expedition sent by the LKG (Lviv Art Gallery, now Lviv National Art Gallery is named after B.G. Voznytsky), which took the works to its own premises. The sculptures were restored and taken to the LKG storage facilities in Olesko Castle.
Franciszek Olenski (c. 1745-1792)
He was a sculptor from Lviv who was active during the Rococo period. Born into a middle-class family, he married Marianna of Polyanskyi, the widow of the sculptor Jan Krzyzanowskyi. He probably began his studies under Sebastian Fessinger in Lviv, and between 1760 and 1770 he continued in Pinsel’s workshop in Buchach. This period had a decisive influence on his art.
From 1773 to 1779 he worked on modernising the interior of the Catholic cathedral in Lviv, creating works in masonry. In particular, he worked with Jan Obrotsky on four altars near the piers, a throne for the bishop and various ornaments. After Pinsel died and his workshop was closed, Mykola Vasyl Pototsky agreed with Olensky that the work in Buchach should be completed in about 1775.
In the 1780s he received a major commission for the complex decoration of the interior of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Berestechko.
About the exhibition
Days and times
Lunedì-giovedì 9.30 – 17.30
Martedì 9.30 – 13.00 (chiuso il pomeriggio)
Venerdì-sabato-domenica e festivi 9.30 – 18.30
Tickets and Reservations
Note: if you are born or live in Ukraine, your visit to the Museum and the exhibition “LEOPOLI E` QUI” is free.
