The Guercino in Cento

The exhibition “Baroque emotion. Il Guercino a Cento” offered an important opportunity to admire the work of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino (Cento, 1575 – Bologna, 1666) in his hometown, to which he was intimately linked and deeply loved by it. The location of the exhibition was the Church of San Francesco – now deconsecrated, and since 1870 owned by the Heritage of Studies – which after the earthquakes of 2012 became the home of the San Lorenzo Art Gallery

 

The interior of the church, which is completely white, presents compositional solutions of clear Baroque inspiration. 

Among all the architectural and sculptural elements, the generous cornices – placed over eleven meters high – that surround the whole church certainly stood out. The widespread presence of these frames suggested the idea for using the new MUSEO Radius projectors to provide a solution to lighting the works of art.

 

In the space offered by the main nave and the presbytery area, an interesting setting created by a strong contrasting chromaticity, hosted 27 paintings – most of which belong to the Civic Art Gallery. In the evocative “blue room” a collection of over 20 drawings – owned by the Municipality of Cento – has been found, rarely visible to the public. In both exhibitions, the MUSEO Radius has created an illuminance respectful of the history of the building, minimal in disturbance, but above all of great precision.

 

The arrangement of the display panels and their considerable distance from the frames made it necessary to carry out a preliminary lighting design study for the installation of the luminaires. 

The calculated simulation made it possible to precisely identify both the beam angle requirement of the MUSEO Radius and the lumen outputs, which were both adapted to the required lighting levels. 

Throughout the consultation process, the network and volumes of the display panels contained within the architectural elements required an appropriate study to further allow for the optimum positioning of the luminaires. 

Therefore reducing shadows and any unwanted light reflections on the art works. 

The precision of the beams offered by the MUSEO Radius combined with the use of the Visor accessory, made it possible to obtain optimal illumination of the works exhibited, along with a high level of visual comfort for the visitor.

Location
Cento, Ferrara, Italy
Market
Places of Worship - Monuments and Museums
Photographer
Stefano Ghelfi