From 15 October 2025 to 7 April 2026, Palazzo Blu hosts the exhibition Belle Époque, curated by Prof. Francesca Dini, organised in collaboration with MondoMostre and with the support of Fondazione Pisa.

The exhibition offers a unique journey into the heart of late 19th-century Paris, the capital of elegance and modernity, told through masterpieces from prestigious international museums – including the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Uffizi Galleries, the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, and Palazzo Te – as well as important private collections presented to the public for the first time.
The exhibition celebrates the allure of the Belle Époque, a period in which art, literature, music and fashion made Paris the cultural centre of the world. At centre stage are the Italian artists who chose the French capital as their adopted home, including Giovanni Boldini, Giuseppe De Nittis and Vittorio Corcos, who, with their refined and personal vision, captured the spirit of their time and became leading figures on the European art scene.
The exhibition unfolds across different thematic sections retracing the key moments of those years, from the political upheavals of 1870 to the birth of modern Paris, reflecting the richness and variety of an unrepeatable era.
On display are Boldini, Blanche and Sargent’s sophisticated portraits, De Nittis’ urban views, Zandomeneghi’s Impressionist atmospheres, and the cosmopolitan elegance of Mariano Fortuny and the Maison Goupil. These works testify to the vitality of a period in which creativity and sociability, scientific progress and new lifestyles contributed to shaping the image of Belle Époque Paris – still today an icon of charm and modernity.

Photo gallery:

Federico Zandomeneghi
Al Caffè Nouvelle Athènes
1885
Olio su tela
90 x 70 cm
Collezione privata

Giovanni Boldini
Ritratto di Helleu che dipinge Madame Gauterau
1884
Olio su ceramica Deck
⌀ 30 cm
Collezione privata

Giovanni Boldini
Sulla panchina al Bois
1872
46 x 34 cm
Collezione privata

Giuseppe De Nittis
Nei campi intorno a Londra
1875 ca
Olio su tela
41 x 50 cm
Collezione privata, courtesy Fondazione Enrico Piceni, Milano

Giuseppe De Nittis
Ritorno dalle corse
1875
Olio su tela
58,1 x 114,6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art: dono di John G. Johnson per la W. P. Wilstach Collection, (W1906-1-10)

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
Le ruban rose (il nastro rosa)
Olio su tela
81 x 65 cm
Courtesy Galerie Ary Jan, Paris

Vittorio Matteo Corcos
Istitutrici ai Campi Elisi
1892
Olio su tela
171 x 140 cm
Collezione Palazzo Foresti – Carpi

Vittorio Matteo Corcos
In Lettura sul mare
1910
Olio su tela
130 x 228 cm
Collezione privata