In the year 1796, in the pious city of Bergamo, Italy, a nobleman named Giacomo Carrara died and left an art gallery to the public. Known as the Accademia Carrara, the gallery contained thousands of paintings, prints, and drawings, as well as a school for the arts. Hundreds of years later, the Accademia closed for renovations in 2008 after seven years. Director Davide Ferrario’s Behind a Portrait: The Italian Treasures from Accademia Carrara documents the days leading up to the gallery’s reopening.
While an average person may not recognize the work on display at the Accademia Carrara, the importance of the gallery and the work therein is illustrated through the care and enthusiasm of the staff, some of whom grew up alongside these paintings and sculptures. On this hallowed ground, groundskeepers and art movers are afforded the same dignity as curators and historians, each an essential part of the gallery’s whole. Footage of the students within the school also shows how Accademia continues to teach and have a positive impact on future generations in Bergamo’s community and beyond.
In addition to interviews with staff and experts, Behind a Portrait treats viewers to closeup examinations and analysis of particular works by Italian artists, an opportunity otherwise unavailable to those unable to travel to Bergamo or study art formally.
Behind a Portrait also occasionally provides musical interludes between its interviews, most notably a spoken word performance about the significance of portraits of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The prose reflects on the duos’ paradoxical humanity and holiness, which mirrors the documentary’s coverage of the down-to-earth humanity of the people running the Academia and its very elevated purpose of preserving, displaying, and teaching art. Even the history of Italian portraiture follows this paradox of the ordinary and the exalted, beginning with portraits of biblical scenes and holy people, leading to the portrayal of wealthy but secular subjects, and eventually portraits of everyday people.
Behind a Portrait covers so many detailed subjects and ideas every few minutes of the documentary could be the subject of an entire class or film club discussion. For example, the documentary explores how different religions—namely in holy texts like the Quran and the Old Testament—forbid creating images of God. One interviewee notes that religions often try to control images, but it only leads to secondary meanings within the images that escape control. (This brings us back to a point made earlier in the documentary: portraits make an impression on their audience through two means: the subject and what the subject symbolizes.)
Davide Ferrario’s documentary about the painstaking work, knowledge, and expertise that goes into reopening Accademia’s doors for the first time in years is insightful and informative viewing for students of museum studies, particularly those who want to work in art museums and/or art preservation. But even casual viewers can enjoy this educational documentary about the necessity of art in our lives. “The more special we make life, the more rewarded the human brain becomes,” interviewee Desmond Morris declares. “Art makes life special.”
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Behind a Portrait: The Italian Treasures of the Accademia Carrara would be suitable for film collections that highlight art history and/or the Italian Renaissance.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Public and academic libraries could use Behind a Portrait: The Italian Treasures of the Accademia Carrara in unique programs about Italian arts and culture or programming that explores different careers, as many museum-related careers are presented in a positive light in this documentary.
What type of college/university professors would find this title valuable?
College professors would find value in sharing Behind a Portrait: The Italian Treasures of the Accademia Carrara with students of art history, museum studies, and art preservation.