Goya, Perugino, Bernini vs. Borromini: here are the titles of Nexo's Art at the Movies 2023


Nexo announces the titles for the new season of its "Great Art at the Movies" series: films on Goya, Perugino, and the Bernini vs. Borromini challenge arrive in theaters.

Nexo Digital ’s Great Art at the Movies returns to Italian theaters in March with three new titles that will range from the elegant, balanced and thoughtful Renaissance of Perugino to the turbulent years of the Baroque with the eternal challenge in search of perfection between Borromini and Bernini, up to The first event will be March 6, 7, 8 with the docu-film dedicated to one of the most important Spanish artists of all time, The Shadow of Goya, presented at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, directed by José Luis López-Linares and written by Jean-Claude Carrière and Cristina Otero Roth. The director of Bosch. The Garden of Dreams, has chosen a team of twelve specialists from all disciplines to try to decipher the Spanish painter’s rich and sinuous oeuvre in this his fascinating new choral documentary. Leading the composite procession of experts and enthusiasts is Jean-Claude Carrière, Luis Buñuel’s longtime friend and collaborator, screenwriter, writer, actor, and director, whom López-Linares had the good fortune to film a year before his untimely death, retracing the footsteps of Francisco Goya (1746-1828) with him. In the course of the narrative, each of the interviewees sheds light in his or her own way on an artist of incredible expressive richness (an otolaryngologist tries his hand, for example, at tracing the consequences of the painter’s deafness in the paintings), bringing together the pieces of a journey that explores the relationship between culture and emotions, cinema and painting. Instead of favoring the chronological route, The Shadow of Goya ranges between works from different periods with which Goya unmasks vices and hypocrisies of his era, all linked together by the sharp guidance and illuminating reflections of Jean-Claude Carrière, who does not fail to identify the artistic links between the painter and the director of “Un chien andalou,” who shared a common origin in Aragon, deafness and a predilection for a surrealist-style narrative. The Shadow of Goya is a Mondex Films, Zampa Audiovisual, López Li Films, Fado Filmes, Milonga Productions production.

The second event, April 3, 4, 5, is Perugino. Immortal Renaissance, produced by Ballandi and directed by Giovanni Piscaglia, director of Van Gogh. Between the Grain and the Sky and Napoleon. In the Name of Art, on a subject by Piscaglia himself with Marco Pisoni and Filippo Nicosia. The documentary recounts the evolution of an artist straddling two worlds: on the one hand, the architecture of Piero della Francesca that was fundamental to his training, and on the other, his penchant for devotional painting and his Florentine studio at Verrocchio. Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci (c. 1450-1523), known as Perugino, was born in Città della Pieve in the mid-15th century. He began working in Perugia but moved to Florence, where he worked in the flourishing workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. He has Leonardo as a colleague and Raphael as a pupil. As an artist, Perugino thus experiences the paradox of being “less than himself”: the identities of “pupil of Piero della Francesca” and “master of Raphael” are stronger than his own. His genius and importance are later overshadowed by those of the artists immediately preceding and following him, and his - though enormous - contribution is considered “transitional.” In contrast, Perugino. Immortal Renaissance aims to highlight his peculiarities and his fundamental role within the history of the Renaissance. It is a journey through Italy to discover his great masterpieces, from the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel to the two rooms entirely dedicated to him at the National Gallery of Umbria. A tribute to an artist who was able to decisively inspire the painters of his time, resulting in works of immortal beauty.

On May 8, 9, 10 it will be time for Borromini and Bernini. Challenge to Perfection, produced by Sky and Quoiat Films, directed by Giovanni Troilo, former director of Frida. Viva la vida, Monet’s Water Lilies. A Spell of Water and Light and Power of Rome, and on a subject by Luca Lancise. Borromini was not yet 20 years old when he arrived in Rome on foot from Milan, leaving his parents and his job as a humble stonemason at the Duomo to pursue his dream of working at the most prestigious building site of his time, the Fabbrica di San Pietro. It is 1619, Rome is the center of Western art, the place where every painter, sculptor, architect who desires glory arrives. Here, new construction sites for churches, fountains, noble palaces and headquarters of young and ambitious religious congregations from all over Europe are popping up every day: starting with the new St. Peter’s Basilica, the Church has decided to use art and urban planning as a powerful means of fascination and persuasion and as a symbol of greatness before the world, to revive its message after the shock caused by Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation. This is the story of Borromini, a man who deprives himself of everything in pursuit of a dream, who becomes one with his art, with no ambition other than to succeed by struggling to establish himself. It is the story of the architectural revolution of a lone genius who changes the appearance of Rome forever, through a personal challenge to convention and prejudice, with the humility to learn from the past in order to invent the future, with the courage to pursue an idea by paying the price to the end. But it is also the story of the most famous artistic rivalry ever, the one between Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), and above all the story of Borromini’s rivalry with himself: a genius so attached to his art that he turns it into a demon that devours him from the inside, until it drives him to choose death in order to touch eternity.

Great Art at the Movies is an original and exclusive project of Nexo Digital. For 2023, La Grande Arte al Cinema is exclusively distributed in Italy by Nexo Digital with media partners Radio Capital, Sky Arte, MYmovies.it and in collaboration with Abbonamento Musei.

Goya, Perugino, Bernini vs. Borromini: here are the titles of Nexo's Art at the Movies 2023
Goya, Perugino, Bernini vs. Borromini: here are the titles of Nexo's Art at the Movies 2023


Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake, please contact us.