On April 4, the National Museum opened its doors to the immersive digital exhibition dedicated to the Italian Renaissance. QazMonitor reporters attended the event to see how innovative technologies bring to life the artwork and ideas of this pivotal era in history.
Being the collaborative effort of the Italian embassy in Kazakhstan, the Scripta Maneant publishing house, and the National Museum, the "Italian Renaissance – Eternal Beauty" exhibition aims to popularize Italian culture among the Kazakh audience.
Marco Alberti, the ambassador of Italy to Kazakhstan, said that the embassy conceived this idea in hopes to enchant the local audience with just a glimpse of what this period has to offer.
"The Italian Renaissance is perhaps at the very beginning of modern culture and modern humanism, and it’s an extraordinary period of time in terms of art, culture, and every expression of human creativity," said the ambassador.
Featuring 28 masterpieces by some of the most renowned artists of all time – Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and others – the exhibition presents a journey into the past powered by modern technologies. The Scripta Maneant has held similar exhibitions in Rome, Genoa, Taipei, and Singapore, showcasing the past with moving paintings, carefully curated lighting, and complementary music, creating an immersive experience for the audience.
"With our technology, you can see close-ups of all the details [of paintings], which is impossible when you look at the original artwork. For instance, in the exhibition here, you can get a good look at the Mona Lisa. It's on display in the Louvre, [but] if you go there, you see that people are crowded around the painting, and you can only stay there for a few moments," explained Francesco Iori, representative of Scripta Maneant.
Ambassador Alberti added that the embassy is considering hosting immersive exhibitions like this on an annual basis.
This exhibition’s main purpose is to bring Kazakh people to Italy. If you are as fascinated by this "digital touch" as we hope, then maybe you’ll consider visiting our country in person. The second purpose is to one day bring one of these masterpieces to Kazakhstan. It will be more challenging but I think we can work on this.
The exhibition will run until April 28.