From the fortress’ website, 8 February 2012
During this winter season the exhibition rooms of the Fortress of Bard are hosting a selection of fine art masterpieces. Erected at the feet of the Aosta Valley during the first half of the 19th Century, the imposing fortress has become a leading cultural centre. The fortress will host an exhibition of works from The Prince’s Treasures – Rubens, Brueghel, Rembrandt, Cranach, Hayez and Canaletto – Masterpieces from the Prince of Lichtenstein’s Art Collection, which will run from 9th December 2011 until 31st May 2012.
Under the direction of the curators, Johann Kraeftner, Director of the Art Collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein and Gabriele Accornero, Councillor of the Fortress of Bard Association, the exhibition will bring together the finest selection from one of the world’s most important private collections to be seen in Italy. One of the oldest noble families of Austria, the Princes of Liechtenstein have been art collectors since the 16th Century, with special focus on classicism, baroque and 19th Century art. This vast collection is presently housed in the Palace of Vaduz, home to Prince Hans Adam II. Some of the works are also on show at the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, which was built in the 18th Century.
There are 80 masterpieces on show at the Fortress of Bard, some of which are monumental in size, and these include 75 oils, 3 sculptures, 1 hard-stone cabinet and 1 tapestry. The works are set out in the seven rooms of the Cannoniere, and comprise an extraordinary selection of masterpieces from the period between the 16th and the 19th Century. A historical overview of the collection and of the Liechtenstein Princely Family is captured in an introductory section which includes photography and video projection, and is hosted in the two halls of the Corpo di Guardia.
The sequence of the exhibition is arranged by School of painting in parallel with the Vienna Palace, whereas the paintings are displayed in each room by artist. An exhibition panel gives an introduction to the School of painting and the various artists on show, whereas trilingual captions give a brief description of each work, also available as podcasts.
Paintings on show by the following artists:
Room 1 – Homage to Rubens
Room 2 – Flemish painting (Van Dyck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Jan Brueghel the Younger, Hals, Jordaens, van Balen, Van Loon)
Room 3 – Cranach and the Dutch school (Dou, Huysum, Momper, Kick, Berckheyde, Heem, Cranach the Elder, Rembrandt, van Huysum)
Rooms 4 & 5 – Italian painters (Berrettini, Pasinelli, Procaccini, Pietro da Cortona, Reni, Giambologna, Franceschini, Bellucci, Soldani Benzi, Allori, Moroni, Maggiotto, Solimena, Hayez, Marinari)
Room 6 – The Vedutisti (Canaletto, Vernet, Ender, Pannini, Locatelli, Ghisolfi, Hubert, Rebell, Waldmuller)
Room, 7 – Neoclassicism and Biedermeier (Amerling, Abel, Fuger, Petter, Makart, Schadow, Hayez, Angelika Kauffmann, Hackert).