From 27 February to 28 June 2026, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, in conjunction with the Municipality of Rovigo, Accademia dei Concordi and Silvana Editoriale, presents “ZANDOMENEGHI AND DEGAS” at Palazzo Roverella. This major exhibition brings Federico Zandomeneghi and Edgar Degas, leading figures on the European art scene between the 19th and 20th centuries, face to face for the very first time.
Curated by Francesca Dini, the exhibition reconstructs the intense - sometimes difficult but always fertile - relationship that bound the two artists throughout their long Parisian friendship.
The exhibition highlights the affinities, references and surprising convergences between two masters capable of redefining the modern perspective, comparing works of extraordinary quality on loan from important national and international museums and collections. These exceptional loans make the exhibition a major event on the Italian exhibition scene. The story begins with Degas' training in Florence and Zandomeneghi's years in Italy, continuing with the move to Paris and the encounter with the Impressionist circles. Against this backdrop, Zandomeneghi assimilated the visual modernity of the French master – his focus on the moment, bold composition and suspended actions – reinterpreting it according to his own personal sensitivity, nourished by the Venetian chromatic tradition.
The exhibition conveys the complexity of a period of transformation, in which Florence and Paris, Macchia and Impressionism, tradition and the avant-garde interact in a tightly-bound exchange. It is a comparison that not only sheds light on two extraordinary artistic careers but also offers a clear and surprising interpretation of Italy's contribution to the birth of European modernity.