Renaissance Frescoes at Seoul Arts Center
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
There's no need to travel all the way to Italy to catch a glimpse of the impressive frescoes painted by old masters Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello. Just head to the exhibition ``Masterpieces of Renaissance Frescoes,'' which brings beautifully exact reproductions of the famous pieces of art to Seoul.
The exhibition, showing 51 reproduction frescoes by 19 Renaissance masters from all over Italy, opened last week at the Hangaram Art Museum in Seoul Arts Center, and runs through Feb. 21.
The reproductions of these frescoes are produced by Lazzari Studio from Umbria, Italy. The Lazzari family has a three-century history of replicating frescoes of Renaissance masters, using a unique technique called ``affregraphy.''
Stefano Lazzari, director of Lazzari Studio, hopes the exhibition of frescoes will re-introduce the spirit of the Renaissance in Korea.
``Unlike paintings on canvas or panels, frescoes never went on a journey despite various attempts. It never happened before in the history of art that people can appreciate frescoes of the da Vinci, Piero della Francesca, Pinturicchio and Perugino, which are widely distributed in Italy, at the same place, at the same time,'' Lazzari said.
Using the affregraphy method, Lazzari and his team painstakingly copied the frescoes in as much detail as possible. Digital images of the original frescoes are transferred to wet plaster, and then carefully painted in by hand using traditional techniques.
Many of the frescoes depict religious themes and stories and figures from the Bible. ``We are happy and thrilled to come here and introduce Renaissance art to Korea,'' said Marina Mattei, curator of Rome Museum.
The highlights of the exhibition include Michelangelo's (1476-1564) ``Universal Judgments,'' and ``Creation of Adam,'' both from the series of panels on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The ``Creation of Adam'' depicts God reaching out to Adam, the first man according to the Bible's Book of Genesis.
Another significant piece is da Vinci's (1452-1519) ``The Last Supper,'' a fresco showing Jesus and the apostles. The work, which can be found in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, will perhaps be familiar to fans of Dan Brown's best-selling novel ``The Da Vinci Code.''
``The Baptism of Christ'' is a painting finished by Andrea del Verrochio, with the help of da Vinci, who was then a young student. Da Vinci painted the blonde angel and parts of the landscape in the piece, which is at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Rafaello's (1483-1520) ``The School of Athens,'' widely considered his masterpiece, can be found in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
Other must-see pieces are ``Allegory of Good Government'' by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290-1348), ``San Giovenale Trinity'' by Masaccio (1401-1428), ``Crucifixion'' by Giotto Di Bondone (1266-1337) and ``Nativity'' by Pinturicchio (1454-1513).
The exhibition, organized by Seoul Arts Center, the Asia Museum and the Christian Television System, is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are 13,000 won for adults, 10,000 won for students and 8,000 won for children. Visit www.freescoart.co.kr or www.sac.or.kr.
To get there, get off at Nambu Bus Terminal line 3 exit 5. Take the green bus 12 or blue bus 4429 or walk five to ten minutes to Seoul Arts Center.