Overview

A Gallery of modern and contemporary paintings and sculptures

The grandiose palace overlooking the Grand Canal was commissioned by the noble and wealthy Pesaro family to the architect Baldassare Longhena, the greatest exponent of Baroque in Venice in the seventeenth century. Ca' Pesaro is now an exhibition space that houses the International Gallery of Modern Art, inaugurated during the second edition of the Biennale. It has a vast collection that has increased over the years, through purchases and prestigious donations, such as the Chiara and Francesco Carraro Collection and the Sonnabend Collection.

The masterpieces on display include the famous The Thinker by Auguste Rodin, Judith II (Salomé) by Gustav Klimt, The Praying Jew by Chagall, works by Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse, Wildt and works by artists such as Medardo Rosso, Giacomo Balla, Arturo Martini, Gino Rossi, Giorgio Morandi and Felice Casorati. In February 2019, it acquired 32 works by the most important Italian artists of the 20th century such as Massimo Campigli, Carlo Carrà, Giacomo Manzù, Ottone Rosai, Scipione and Mario Sironi. On the third floor, the Palazzo also houses the Oriental Art Museum, with one of the most important European collections of Japanese art.