On view on the Belvedere from 13 Might to 11 October 2026, “Overpainted and Uncovered” research how interventions altered the which means of works by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder and the Youthful
Supply: Belvedere · Picture: Johann Baptist Lampi the Youthful, Sleeping Venus with Cupid in Entrance of a Mirror, 1826 (situation after the overpainting was eliminated, 2024)
What do a Neoclassical household portrait and a Biedermeier portray of Venus have in frequent? Each the portrait of Caroline and Viktor von Tomatis by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder and the portray Sleeping Venus in Entrance of a Mirror with Cupid by his eponymous son have been considerably overpainted. This IN-SIGHT exhibition traces how these main interventions altered the which means of each works.
Throughout his time in Warsaw in 1788/89, Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder painted a number of portraits of the Tomatis household. Milanese dancer Catarina, née Filipazzi, had moved to Warsaw with entrepreneur Carlo Tomatis in 1765. One of many three portraits of the fa mily by Lampi reveals two of their youngsters, Caroline and Viktor, standing both aspect of a bust. X -ray and infrared imaging from 2016 revealed this bust to be an overpainting: hidden beneath the layers of paint is a portrait of their mom, Catarina, embra cing her youngsters. This exhibition tells the story of the Tomatis household based mostly on this work, additional portraits, and archival materials.
Cupid emerged, hid beneath a black floor. By erasing the god of affection, the mythological content material of this work had light into the background. This helps clarify why the portray was later interpreted as a portrait of Emilie Victoria Kraus, one in all Napo leon’s lovers, in two twentieth -century novels set in Salzburg. It was exactly this false interpretation that paved the best way to the portray’s reputation —reaching even so far as Paraguay. Now, for the primary time for the reason that revealing of Cupid in 2024, the p ainting will probably be proven to the general public beneath its authentic title.
This exhibition uncovers the layers of which means contained inside two work, which had been hidden by overpainting. It reveals that the which means of artworks could be considerably altered as soon as they go away the artist’s studio: A household portrait expressing a mot her’s love for her youngsters was reworked right into a memorial, an idealized Venus turned the portrait of a neighborhood Salzburg celeb.
