Postcard from Nervi, Genoa, Italy: Two modern art museums near the seaside

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

With one wall depicting sweets and attention lavished upon a good child and another the unpleasantness awaiting a naughty boy, Antonio Rubino (1880-1964) transformed a child’s room into illustrations seemingly plucked from the pages of a collection of nursery rhymes. The 1921 bedroom with a “City of Dreams” is but one of the unusual galleries encountered in Wolfsoniana, located in the seaside suburb of Genoa, Nervi. Here, among other things, we learned the Battle of Flowers is not unique to San Antonio; Ventimiglia is known for its Battaglia di Fiori.

The collection of art dating from 1880-1945 in this new museum reflects the interests of Miami-born Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. He opened the first museum showcasing his passions in 1995 in the Art Deco District in Miami Beach. As Wolfson became increasingly attached to Genoa, he moved some of his immense personal collections there. He considers himself, according to the Wolfson Collection website:

…a conservationist because of my desire to discover, but not possess. The challenge is to save endangered objects that are ignored or not held in admiration by others….

Before I decide to buy an object I think whether it belongs to the narrative or not. Truth and beauty don’t interest me particularly. I am interested in the language of objects….

It is the goal of my collection: “to make people think.”

…but I’m not interested in what you think: I shall simply be happy to have stimulated the birth of an idea within you, of a souvenir, a dream.

Mitchell Wolfson, Jr.

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, “Figura di Bambina,” Carlo Vitale, 1933

Galleria d’Arte Moderna overlooking Parchi di Nervi

Wolfsoniana

Wolfsoniana, Neo-Egyptian bedroom, Fabio and Alberto Fabbi, 1890

Wolfsoniana, lazy susan dining set

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, “Diamante Nero,” Sexto Canegallo, 1920

Galleria d’Arte Moderna

Wolfsoniana

Wolfsoniana, Children’s Room designed by Antonio Rubino, 1921

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Fortunato Depero, 1935

Wolfsoniana, “Portrait of Maestro Salta,” Gerardo Dottori, 1937

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Marco Tandredi, 2017

Wolfsoniana

Galleria d’Arte Moderna

Wolfsoniana, Carlo Bugatti, 1899

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Verossi Albino Siviero, 1937

Galleria d’Arte Moderna. “Terrazzo sul Mare,” Pietro Dodero, 1923

Wolfsoniana, Ventimiglia Battle of Flowers poster, Filippo Romoli, 1954

Wolfsoniana, Children’s Room designed by Antonio Rubino, 1921

Wolfsoniana, Children’s Room designed by Antonio Rubino, 1921

Wolfsoniana, Children’s Room designed by Antonio Rubino, 1921

Wolfsoniana, wrought-iron and copper heater, 1920

Wolfsoniana, Ventimiglia Battle of Flowers poster, Filippo Romoli, 1957

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Alberto Issel, 1902

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, “Portrait of the Lady,” Cornelio Geranzani, 1925

Wolfsoniana, Children’s Room designed by Antonio Rubino, 1921

Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Maria Giulia Drago, 2017

Nearby in the 15th-century Villa Saluzzo Serra, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna focuses on artwork from the beginning of the 19th century to contemporary. The base of the museum’s holdings came from Prince Oddone (1846-1866) of Savoy’s collection. The avid collector, a son of King Vittorio Emanuele II (1820-1878), was sickly and died at the young age of 19. The City of Genoa actively acquired art between 1912 and 1950 from the Venice Bienniale and Rome Quadriennale exhibitions, and some of Wolfsoniana’s overflow is on display in the villa as well.