The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Gaetano Serra Zanetti: two versions compared

Two versions of the Incredulity of St. Thomas by Gaetano Serra Zanetti (Bologna, 1807 - ivi, 1862) are on display at the Museo Civico d'Arte Industriale and Galleria Davia Bargellini, exhibited by the Musei Civici d'Arte Antica in collaboration with La Quadreria di ASP Città di Bologna.

The two paintings are usually preserved in storage and therefore cannot be observed by the public. The exhibition thus creates an opportunity for attendees to be able to see for themselves two relevant works in the career of Zanetti, who was a leading figure in nineteenth-century Bologna, repeatedly honored with various prizes and awards. 

The work of St. Thomas, commissioned by Marquis Giuseppe Davia has recently been extensively restored in terms of both the entire pictorial surface and the original frame: thus, in addition to the date and the author's signature on the back, splendid tones, very vivid hues and the lightness of the shadows have emerged. 

Several nineteenth-century landscapes from the Romantic period are also shown during the museum tour, which are on permanent display: the staircase by Giuseppe Termanini and several paintings by Giacomo Savini, both pupils of Vincenzo Martinelli, a painter and set designer and leading exponent of Bolognese landscape painting in the second half of the eighteenth century.

The initiative is curated by Mark Gregory D'Apuzzo.