Giancarlo Vitali's Four-Venue Retrospective Opens in Milan

Palazzo Reale in Milan presents a major retrospective of Giancarlo Vitali (Bellano, 1929), running concurrently with a Vincenzo Agnetti exhibition. The show features 200 works and spans four venues: Palazzo Reale, Castello Sforzesco, Museo di Storia Naturale, and Casa del Manzoni. At Palazzo Reale, the exhibition traces Vitali's early period and influences (De Pisis, Carrà, Sironi), highlighting his portraiture and satirical edge. His best work dates from the 1980s onward, after rediscovery by Giovanni Testori, including celebrated "macellerie" (butcher shops) inspired by Rembrandt and Soutine, inventive still lifes, and satirical portraits. At Castello Sforzesco, a section on Vitali's graphic works displays matrices and finished pieces alongside prints from the Bertarelli collection by Morandi, Ensor, and Goya. At Museo di Storia Naturale, Vitali's engraved and drawn fossils echo those studied by abate Stoppani. At Casa del Manzoni, filmmaker Peter Greenaway orchestrates an immersive installation blending Vitali's works, personal objects, and props, creating tableaux in each room. Greenaway avoids kitsch despite past risks (2015 Venice Biennale Italy Pavilion, Leonardo's Last Supper multimedia). The most striking rooms address illness and death.