In Mantua, at the 15th-century Casa del Mantegna, (Mantegna’s House) an exhibition was held in June 2023 dedicated to the work of the ‘Mantuan painter’ Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506).

Considered one of the architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance designed according to the principles of classical architecture, Mantegna lived and worked at Casa del Mantegna for several years.

This exhibition was part of the Mantovarchitettura 2023 event – promoted by the Mantua Territorial Pole of the Milan Polytechnic and the UNESCO Presidency, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival.

The exhibition Andrea Mantegna: ‘painter from Mantua’ (curated by Elisa Boeri and fitted out by Filippo Bricolo) offered a wide-ranging consideration on Mantegna’s work and life. The outfitting, in which the reference to Renaissance wooden machines is echoed, consisted of an itinerary made of images, details and words where the spectator was asked to act and physically interact with the artefact.

The exhibition itinerary went on through six rooms of the (almost) square House, each of which was assigned a specific theme, developed with the help of ‘critical devices’ designed by Filippo Bricolo, objects with cylindrical and square shapes that refer to certain Renaissance wooden machines, but they are small and precious architectures.

The six architectures were ‘invitations to look slowly; they are strategies of slowing down’, which made people interact with them: pausing, observing, reading, but, above all, thinking and discovering some aspects, perhaps unknown or little-studied, of the Renaissance world of Andrea Mantegna, the ‘Mantuan painter’.

Light was a decisive element for the fitting out of the exhibition, since it had to be absolutely consistent with the exhibition route. Thanks to the lighting contribution provided by QU, an emerging Italian company that designs, produces and markets its own standard and custom-made products, it was possible to make the exhibition completely immersive, allowing the visitors to walk around freely without being bothered in any way by the lighting fixtures. The latter ones were also customised by QU to allow them to adapt to the wooden structures of the exhibition. As light sources QU decided to opt for ED POLE floor lamps and ROCCHETTO spotlights.

ED POLE is a floor lamp characterised by a minimalist design and great versatility, making the lighting equipment be ideal for museum and residential spaces. At the top end the touch switch system is installed and by it, it is possible to manage the on/off functions and the regulation of the light flow up to a maximum of 60W. Various finishes are available, from standard Black and White to Bronze and Copper to Gold, Burnished and Corten. Now it is also possible to have the fixture elegantly upholstered in leather.

The ROCCHETTO series is a broad and diverse category of wall and ceiling spots ideal for spotlighting indoor and outdoor spaces. The variety of perspectives makes it perfect for recreating different settings. The luminaire can be rotated 360° along the vertical axis and 90° along the horizontal axis.

In outfitting the exhibition dedicated to Andrea Mantegna, QU chose Rocchetto 9W with different optical beams to better suit the environment. The support was customised by means of a modular anchoring system, a fabric strap, capable of adapting perfectly to different wooden structures.

www.qu-lighting.com