Teodoro Correr

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Teodoro Correr (born December 12, 1750 in Venice ; † February 20, 1830 ibid), Venetian Todaro Correr , was one of the most important collectors of art objects and books. The Museo Correr and its library on St. Mark's Square go back to his foundation .

Portrait of Corrers by Bernardino Castelli (1750–1810)

Correr was trained by the Theatinians and began the customary course of the time for members of the dominant noble families of Venice. But he preferred to join the Friars Minor and become abbot there .

From the time the Republic of Venice was dissolved by Napoleon in 1797 , he avoided meddling in politics because his dominant passion was collecting books. In doing so, he filled three halls and about twenty chambers of his small palace near San Zan Degolà in the Santa Croce sestiere , but this was done extremely unsystematically. Then distributed manuscripts , incunabula , early prints , paintings, books, printing blocks , seal, coat of arms, coins, but also scientifically important objects scattered in the building, as he himself in his Testament noted.

His passion for collecting was supported by the fact that many of the powerful families before 1797 were suddenly without income and accordingly began to sell their antiques. On the one hand, this brought huge quantities onto the market, and on the other hand, prices fell. Correr often accessed it without hesitation, but with a lucky hand and definitely groundbreaking originality and an inkling of future areas of interest, albeit without a pronounced critical awareness, not to mention museological collection principles.

He tried to make the objects publicly available. He allowed anyone interested to research his collection and finally donated everything to the city of Venice on January 1, 1830.

To this end, he determined that his house at "San Jacopo dall'Orio al n. 1278" should take the name Raccolta Correr (Correr Collection). It should be open to every researcher and "admirer" at least two days a week, from 9 am to 3 pm. A “Preposto”, a “Custode” and a “Portier” should be paid permanently from his funds. What was not used of its funds should be put into further acquisitions in order to enlarge the museum.

The first director of the house was Marcantonio Corniani in 1835 , followed by Luigi Carrer in 1846 , then Vincenzo Lazari in 1851 , who was the first to gain an overview of the enormous collection. In doing so, however, in accordance with the museological ideas of his time, he tore up grown collections in order to be able to organize them thematically. It was also he who destroyed Correr's letter collection, apparently afraid that it might become known that Correr corresponded with dubious men, that he had carried on usury , and that his collection of erotic works could become known.

During this time, major donations were made in the form of independent collections, such as by Domenico Zoppetti (1849), Nicoloò Contarini (1853) or Giovanni Miani .

In 1898 the collection went beyond the scope of the Correr Palace and so the city transferred the collection to the Fontego dei Turchi . In 1922 it was moved to St. Mark's Square , where it is now in the Museo Correr . The Museo del Risorgimento e dell'Ottocento Veneziano and an important collection of paintings joined the Correr collection.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ After Alvise Zorzi : Canal Grande , 1991, p. 65.
  2. ↑ “che la sua casa di abitazione posta in San Jacopo dall'Orio al n. 1278 vicina a S. Giovanni Decollato, ove conservasi il Museo, abbia quind'innanzi a prendere il nome di Raccolta Correr; che sia aperta a comodo del pubblico almeno due giorni per settimana dalle ore 9 della mattina all 3 pomeridians, e che qualunque studioso ed ammiratore possa… vedere, trascrivere e disegnare; che tre persone alle quali si assegna un decoroso stipendio, siano d'immediato servigio al Museo e cioè un Preposto, un custode, un porters; che detratti i pesi alle eredità inerenti, parte del sopravanzo sia impiegato in acquisto di oggetti ad incremento del Museo; che tutta la sua facoltà mobile, immobile, azioni, ragioni, crediti abbiano a servire di patrocinio a questa sua Pubblica istituzione, ch'egli pone a tutela della Città di Venezia “, in: La Gazzetta di Venezia, February 26, 1830. Quoted according to the website of the Musei Civici Veneziani.
  3. ^ Adalgisa Lugli: Museologia , Editoriale Jaca Book, 1999, p. 76.
  4. ↑ Atti del R. Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti , Venice 1864, pp. 125f.
personal data
SURNAME Correr, Teodoro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Correr, Todaro (Venetian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Venetian collector of art objects and books
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1750
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 1830
Place of death Venice