The International Modern Art Gallery of Venice is located inside Ca' Pesaro, in the Santa Croce district, near Campo San Stae.
The building was donated by Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa to the
city so that it would become a center dedicated to modern art. In
1902 it became the seat of the municipal collection of modern art,
born with the donation of Alberto Giovanelli in 1897, on the
occasion of the second Biennale. The works exhibited at the artistic
event were the main ones to flow into the gallery, which became a
sort of museum of the Biennale, at least as regards the early
twentieth century. However, the collection of works acquired through
donations is also extensive.
Famous masterpieces stand out in
the collection: Judith II by Klimt stands out among the canvases and
drawings; Bonnard's Nude in the Mirror; the Rabbi by Chagall as well
as works by Kandinsky, Klee, Rouault, Matisse, Grosz, Moore,
Morandi, Donghi, De Chirico, Boccioni, Sironi, Gustavo Boldrini,
Emilio Vedova, Felice Carena, Virgilio Guidi, Davide Orler and
others.
Among the sculptures there is a vast collection of
works by Wildt, Martini, Medardo Rosso, while a version of Rodin's
Thinker and the Burghers of Calais stand out, the latter exhibited
in the first room.
In Ca' Pesaro itself there is also the
Museum of Oriental Art, housed on the top floor.
In 2015, the
mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro proposed selling the masterpieces of
Klimt and Chagall to settle the city's accounts.