Parma2020 dedicates an exhibition to Stendhal's literary masterpiece

From February 22 to May 31, 2020, Palazzo Bossi Bocchi in Parma will offer the exhibition La Certosa di Parma. Stendhal’s Dreamed City interpreted by Carlo Mattioli, which is part of the program of Parma Italian Capital of Culture 2020.

The exhibition, promoted and realized by Fondazione Cariparma and Fondazione Carlo Mattioli, will focus on the figure of Stendhal, who wrote the literary masterpiece La Certosa di Parma in 1838, and the Stendhal-esque works of painter Carlo Mattioli.

The exhibition will tell the story of the making of the novel, from its conception and drafting (it was written in 53 days, between November and December 1838), to its immediate publication and publishing fortune.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see, thanks to the collaboration of the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta - Biblioteca Palatina, about fifty editions, in French and Italian, of Stendhal’s literary work: from the first in French in April 1839 to the most recent, also enriched by the specimens preserved in the Fondazione Cariparma’s Busseto Library and the Library of the Deputation of National History.

Also on display will be a portrait of Henry Beyle (Grenoble 1783 - Paris 1842), better known as Stendhal, and some memorabilia that will attempt to recreate the environment in which the author wrote the novel.

The exhibition route will continue through the places and characters from the novel immortalized in the works of Carlo Mattioli in the 1950s: paintings, works on paper and unpublished ceramics that led, in 1977, to the publication of the art book La Certosa di Parma published by Azzoni, of which Fondazione Cariparma owns a precious copy within the collection of Libri d’Artista donated by Corrado Mingardi.

The Parma that Mattioli depicts is almost always taken at night and from a slightly lowered point of view so that it looks majestic; completely empty or traversed by geometric rows of soldiers in uniform, with dilated and deserted squares, palaces with dark and empty windows. The Basilica della Steccata appears at night, the church “del Quartiere,” the prison and the Farnese tower that overlaps with the Certosa in which Fabrizio del Dongo, the novel’s protagonist, will end his days. The artist does not intend to make illustrations, but only hints at the story.

Four lectures with free admission are planned during the exhibition:
- Stendhal’s "Invisible City," curated by Francesca Dosi - Tuesday, March 3, 5 pm;
- Correspondences and suggestions between Stendhal, Correggio and Carlo Mattioli, curated by Luisa Viola - Tuesday, March 10, 5 pm;
- The Charterhouse of Parma, a reading of Stendhal’s novel, edited by Guido Conti - Thursday, March 19, 5 pm;
- The Charterhouse of Parma ends with a “fable,” but without a happy ending..., edited by Luisa Viola - Tuesday, April 21, 5 p.m.

Hours: Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m.

Free admission

Parma2020 dedicates an exhibition to Stendhal's literary masterpiece

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