130 18th-century masterpieces at Udine Castle explore Friuli's art between Venice and Empire

Udine Castle hosts 'Pittori del Settecento tra Venezia e Impero', an exhibition of 130 works and documents focusing on 18th-century painting in Friuli, a border region between the Habsburg Empire and the Venetian Republic. The show highlights artists who flourished there, from well-known figures like Giambattista Tiepolo, Giandomenico Tiepolo, Pietro Longhi, and Nicola Grassi to lesser-known talents such as Gaspare Diziani, Francesco Fontebasso, and Francesco Chiarottini. Giambattista Tiepolo is presented as a dominant force in European art, blending fantasy with realism; two drawings from the Sartorio collection in Trieste are on view, including a study for a ceiling allegory and the painting 'La Virtù e la Nobiltà trionfano sull’Ignoranza', plus 'L’Angelo custode' (1737). Diziani's 'Immacolata con quattro cappuccini' (1735-40) shows a shift toward lighter colors under Sebastiano Ricci's influence. Fontebasso, a skilled decorator, favored everyday scenes and historical subjects. Chiarottini, born in Cividale del Friuli, studied under Fontebasso and followed Tiepolo; his 'Madonna con Bambino' (1764) comes from Udine's civic museums.