The Royal Palace of Venaria in synergy with France: an exhibition of Léger, Matisse, and Bacon

The Royal Palace of Venaria is preparing to inaugurate a new season in its exhibition history, reaffirming the international vocation of one of Italy’s most prestigious cultural hubs. The recent two-year collaboration program with French institutions was presented in recent days at Palazzo Farnese, home to the Embassy of France in Rome, and is set to strengthen dialogue and exchanges between Piedmont’s Savoyard heritage and some of the most important figures in modern and contemporary art across the Alps. Following an intense four-year cycle of joint projects with Tate in London, the Reggia’s leadership—Michele Briamonte and Chiara Teolato—now relaunches the institution’s international mission, focusing on a strategic synergy with Paris and Lyon and partnering with MondoMostre and Manifesto Expo in a Europe-wide initiative.

In the coming years, the alliances between Italy and France will take shape in two major exhibitions. The first, “Fernand Léger! Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle, Keith Haring,” will run from September 27, 2025 to February 1, 2026 and will pivot around the work of Fernand Léger, a seminal figure in the evolution of twentieth-century painting. Organized in collaboration with the Grand Palais Rmn, the Musées nationaux du XXe siècle des Alpes-Maritimes, the Musée national Fernand Léger in Biot, and the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain in Nice, the exhibition will explore the French master’s impact on subsequent generations—from French Nouveau Réalisme to American Pop Art and global Street Art. The curatorial path will place Léger’s vision in dialogue with artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, and May Wilson, tracing a direct line, both conceptual and formal, between European and American poetics. Key themes include the status of the object, depictions of a leisure society, and the role of public, accessible art—an ambitious narrative that sees the Reggia di Venaria, together with leading French museums, take on a new cultural challenge for a broad audience.

The second exhibition, “From Matisse to Bacon,” scheduled between October 2026 and February 2027, will underscore the historical scope and richness of the aesthetic dialogue between France and Italy, spanning seventy masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. The Reggia’s galleries will host works by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, in-depth explorations of Alexej von Jawlensky’s chromatic investigations, and the atmospheres of Nicolas de Staël and Simon Hantaï. These will be joined by major figures including Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Jean Dubuffet, and Francis Bacon. The itinerary will encompass Cubist experimentations, Surrealist developments, and the expressive tensions of the twentieth century, offering a fresh perspective on Europe’s artistic legacy and on modern culture’s ability to transform languages and inspirations. Not only painting: the exhibition will also be an opportunity to examine the history of social transformations, the relationships among the avant-gardes, and the shifts in taste that have marked the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The program launch brought together representatives from both nations: Martin Briens, Ambassador of France to Italy; Michele Briamonte, President of the Consortium and Vice President of the Association of European Royal Residences (ARRE); Chiara Teolato, Director General of the Consortium; Simone Todorow di San Giorgio, CEO of MondoMostre; and Alexandre Colliex, Managing Director of Manifesto Expo. At the heart of the strategy is the intention to reaffirm the identity of the Reggia di Venaria as a laboratory of experimentation and an international crossroads—able to capture the impulses of the contemporary moment and place them in dialogue with its own history and with the themes of landscape, historic residences, and museum innovation. “This project renews the international mission of the Reggia di Venaria, fostering a dialogue that crosses national borders and strengthens collaboration among Europe’s leading artistic institutions,” Director Chiara Teolato emphasized.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and a member of the Association of European Royal Residences, the Reggia di Venaria confirms its leading role in integrating museology, diplomatic protocol, and territorial enhancement. The upcoming exhibitions will have tangible impacts on tourism, training, and the broader ecosystem linked to the cultural and creative industries. Turin, Paris, and Lyon will become hubs in a shared narrative where Savoyard roots engage with the French imagination, promoting a culture of collaboration and the circulation of ideas and artworks. The Italy–France partnership, with its long tradition of artistic exchange, will translate into training programs, publishing projects, and innovation labs for young curators and scholars, strengthening international networks and a cross-cutting promotion strategy spanning digitization, cultural tourism, and heritage valorization.

Drawing on the experience gained with Tate and the network of European residences, Venaria is renewing itself by focusing on the quality of exchanges and the breadth of its thematic offering. The multilateral agreements signed in recent weeks have laid the foundations for a series of long-term projects: planned initiatives include collection exchanges, artist residencies, shared restoration projects, and outreach actions aimed at both schools and professional communities. The Reggia’s cosmopolitan dimension gains momentum from the decision to engage with major artistic centers, projecting the Piedmont region into a European network of cultural research and production. “I can only acknowledge and appreciate the prestige of this initiative also in my new capacity as Vice President of the Association of European Royal Residences, as it carries great cultural significance and programs of relations and exchanges of notable international interest,” noted Michele Briamonte.

The program also strengthens the Reggia’s identity profile at the intersection of architectural innovation, restoration, and landscape enhancement, proposing the Savoy residence as a model of reuse and historical-artistic reinterpretation. Visitors will be able to enjoy immersive experiences across permanent collections and temporary events, from the gardens to the grand courtyards that evoke power and beauty. Thus the Royal Palace of Venaria renews its vocation as a place of encounter, learning, and creative exchange—where French and Italian art converse in a laboratory of coexistence and shared growth.

This new cycle of exhibitions and collaborations between the Reggia di Venaria and France marks a pivotal phase for the Italian and European museum landscape and tells a story of relationships, synergies, and openness. Culture becomes a driving force in a transformation that sets people, languages, and visions in motion, offering the public an exhibition program capable of crossing borders and uniting the capitals of contemporary art.