By Rory Steele

Between March and October 2002 Canberra and Melbourne will host an exceptional exhibition of masterpieces of Italian Art of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. This exhibition, officially called Three Centuries of Italian Art will be promoted under the striking title of The Italians .

The exhibition, promoted by the Soprintendenza dei Beni Artistici e Storici in Rome by the Arte e Civiltà Foundation in Milan and by ArtificioSkira' in Florence, will be jointly managed with the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, and will involve the highest Italian and Australian authorities.

The exhibition will be hosted by the National Gallery of Australia from 28 March to 16 June, and then by the Melbourne Museum from 5 July to 6 October. It will go to no other country.

The genesis of the exhibition goes back to 2000, and the musings of Dr Gilberto Algranti of the Arte e Civiltà Foundation in Milan. This non-profit making body has extensive experience in the organisation of exhibitions of this type and Dr Algranti is as well-connected in the field of classical art in Italy as anyone in that country. Personally knowing the principals in leading Italian galleries both private and public, he conceived the idea of an exhibition which would span Italy's most glorious post-renaissance period with a focus also on its geographic spread. Dr Algranti had never till then been to Australia but he knew that our country, indeed our region, had not been privileged to receive much in the way of great Italian art. He was advised by Armida Allevi, an independent consultant also based in Milan, who visited Australia and reported back that our galleries were capable of putting on an exhibition of this quality and that the public interest was potentially there.

Discussions began in earnest in Milan in June 2001, involving also Italinx, a Canberra-based consultancy. The Foundation already had a good idea of the availability of some one hundred works and - reflecting the time period - had in mind a working title of From Titian to Tiepolo. The Foundation's view, based on detailed discussions with a number of important galleries including the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, the Palazzo Barberini and Palazzo Venezia in Rome and the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, was that the exhibition should leave early and return late in 2002, and visit three cities in Australia, including Sydney and Melbourne.

This plan was presented to a number of gallery directors in Australia through the offices of Italinx, and a number of issues immediately rose to the surface which had an important bearing on future developments. The first was that Australian galleries typically have programs fully booked up for two or three years in advance, and that no matter how good the content of this exhibition was - and there was universal appreciation, not to say wonderment, at the quality of what was on offer - it would be extraordinarily difficult and costly to make necessary rearrangements in such a short time.

Particular issues arose in regard to Sydney and Melbourne. With the latter, the plain fact was that the National Gallery of Victoria would remain closed throughout 2002, pending completion of its major refurbishment, well under way already and not due to be completed until late 2003. The city's former principal gallery, in Russell Street, had a crowded schedule until mid-2002, when it would be returned to the State Government for planned new functions. The only other option, which at this stage seemed somewhat hypothetical, was to use the Melbourne Museum, inaugurated only in August 2000 and never to date having exhibited major works of art. The New South Wales Art Gallery's difficulty was essentially that of tight scheduling.

In contrast, the National Gallery of Australia, which had planned restructuring works in 2002 but had seen the need for this deferred, was facing an unexpected gap in its program for 2002 : it received the news of the availability of the exhibition as almost too good to be true. Director Brian Kennedy reacted with alacrity to establish the bona fides of the offer, and to send a team to carry out further discussions on the matter in Milan in September. He himself, with Deputy Director Dr Jorg Zutter, followed up these working level discussions and confirmed with both Dr Strinati and then, most importantly with Deputy Minister of Culture Vittorio Sgarbi, that this exhibition had the imprimatur of the Italian Government.

The NGA at a very early stage in the discussions emerged as the leading player on the Australian side, and it enjoyed two special advantages, in addition to space in its 2002 program. One was that it had direct access to the Commonwealth Indemnity Scheme which could underwrite insurance for an exhibition of this kind, in ideal circumstances for the entire return journey of each work from and back to the wall on which it had been hanging in Italy, and for its entire stay in Australia including travel between cities. State Governments do provide such indemnification, but theirs is more confined in scope. Canberra's second advantage was paradoxical: it attracts more paying visitors to any given major exhibition than Sydney or Melbourne, even though it largely shares the same pool of potential visitors as the former. This may be due to the comparatively wide range of things to do in the larger centres, but it certainly gives the NGA an edge in a venture such as this, which is being run on a commercial rather than a traditional cultural basis.

Discussions were also held in a provisional way with the Queensland Art Gallery, another with near-impossible problems that would arise with rescheduling of commitments for 2002. At this point Melbourne Museum identified itself as a potential and willing host, and a decision was made by the organisers to consolidate the exhibition in two venues only - Canberra and Melbourne - with many attendant advantages in terms of costs and efficiencies. Indeed real benefit was seen in being able to use the splendid and most modern facilities of the Melbourne Museum, in the heart of the Australian city with the largest number of citizens of Italian origin.

Following the September meetings in Milan and Rome, Dr Algranti and Ms Allevi came to Australia and, with Italinx, joined in intensive discussions with the Directors and staffs of the two interested host galleries. These discussions centred on all the technical issues raised by a project of such magnitude, from catalogue production and financing to lighting and wall space. Particular attention was focused on content. Inevitably there were some changes to the original list, and indeed a setback occurred when the Galleria Borghese announced that it was not now lending any works to anyone for the next two years to honour 200 years of ownership of the gallery by the state - this impacted on five or six fine works that had previously been identified as available. But - and here Dr Algranti's skills, including professional and diplomatic, must be given due honour - the quality of the overall exhibition as a result not only did not suffer but actually increased. With the interested involvement of key figures in the Italian Government, notably the Deputy Minister Sgarbi as well as Dr Claudio Strinati, Superintendent for Cultural Matters in Rome, additional paintings not mentioned at the outset - including Leonardo's Head of Christ and three masterpieces by Caravaggio - were announced as available.

Around this time efforts were also commenced to involve one of the key ingredients for success in an enterprise of this kind, namely the Italian community. Ambassador H.E. Mr. Dino Volpicelli met all the key players and declared his readiness to help ensure that this exhibition, with its evident capability to further enhance the image of Italy in Australia, is adopted, encouraged and made to succeed. Discussions with the community in Melbourne showed a ready recognition of the benefits to the community of a cultural initiative of this kind, and how this might bring other advantages including to companies operating in the Australian market.

As it has evolved, the exhibition now will have an extraordinary range of works. Many of these are by artists so well known that they are sure to draw good attendance by the Australian public. Titian, Caravaggio and Canaletto in fact will be represented by three works each, while there will be two drawings by Michelangelo. But in addition the exhibition comprises many extraordinarily fine paintings by other artists such as Giorgione's mysterious Double Portrait, Moroni's Knight in Pink which is recognised as one of the finest portraits ever done, the Ortolana by Campi and a superb Annunciation by Lorenzo Lotto. All in all, for the seven months in which it will come here and only here, the exhibition will be a rare treat, an artistic feast, and something of which both Italy and Australia can feel proud.

* Rory Steele is a former Australian Ambassador to Rome and is now the principal of Italinx Pty Ltd, a business and trade promotion company based in Canberra.