L' eta di Courbet e Monet

There is a majestic villa with a rich history in Passariano (province of Udine) in Italy - Villa Manin. It was built in the 17th century as a country house for the Manin family. The villa was the residence of the last doge of Venice Ludovico Manin, and in late 18th century Napoleon Bonaparte chose this residence as the General Headquarters of the French troops stationed here. In the villa you can admire Napoleon's room, frescoes and a beautiful chapel. There are some permanent museum collections to visit and a huge park with many sculptures.

Till March 2010 the villa is hosting an extraordinary exhibition "The age of Courbet and Monet - Realism and Impressionism in central and Eastern Europe" with more than 120 masterpieces from masters like Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Monet,... .
I visited the exhibition last weekend and it's well worth to see. I was delighted to see those colors, that certain light in these masterpieces which no art book prints can reproduce. Simply magnificent. You can hardly go away from some paintings, it's a pleasure for the eye and the soul. I also discovered some new favourite artists like Guillaume Vogels and Hippolyte Boulenger. Here you can find detailed info about the exhibition and the complete list of exhibited paintings (Elenco delle opere in mostra).