Carlo Scarpa, Exhibition on Antonello da Messina, Messina (Italy), 1953  

This project from Carlo Scarpa is a project for an exhibition room where the paintings by Antonello da Messina were exhibited. The room has a rectangular shape and is places in the main hall of Palazzo Zanca.

Scarpa inserted large vails of a fabric called “calico plissettato”, along all four walls. They slide obliquely from a second system of sheets suspended on the ceiling almost reaching the floor and are fixed with iron angles detached from the floor to create a thin luminous line on the ground.

For the frame that masks the ceiling he used a chess knits to create a unique play of voids and solids. He hides the room openings by silk covered frames in different colors. For the openings to the south he used blue color and for the openings to the north pink.

The works were set in simple wood paneling. At first sight the arrangement of the works seems casual, but Scarpa makes each “quadra valone” special and placed them in a very particular order. This type of exposure works perfectly with the light and creates a versatile, dynamic path.

For the placement of the “Pietà Correr” he did a trestle, which act as a base.

The floor was covered with a layer of ivory in order to make the room more muted.

References:

• Carlo Scarpa, Ehibition on Antonello da Messina, 1953, Drawings completed for Laboratorio di Architettura degli Interni I, Prof. G. Ottolini, M. Nocchi con M. Pirola, S. Varvaro, Politecnico di Milano, A.A. 2005-2006.

Authors:

Lauren Overlaet

Farah De Schutter

Iva Georgieva