Lady with a Unicorn by Raphael

Raphael at Villa Berg. Laboratorio Museotecnico Goppion for the exhibition of «Lady with a Unicorn» in Moscow

Moscow, Russian Federation - Goppion is delighted to announce the exhibition of the work by Raphael «Lady with a Unicorn» at the Italian Embassy in Moscow, to mark the opening of the Year of Italian Culture and Language in Russia.

“We know well how much the Russian public admires the Italian Renaissance. The exhibition of the «Lady» serves to enhance direct knowledge of the Raphael masterpieces that can inspire enthusiasm in Russians for art”, Ambassador Antonio Zanardi Landi, who conceived the initiative, has highlighted.

Selected to supervise the aspects of exhibition and preventive conservation of the masterpiece by the master from Urbino, Goppion is proud to make its contribution to the successful outcome of a cultural project that identifies, among the major themes of the Italian Year in Russia, the combination between art and technological innovation.

The painting is protected by a high-performance made-to-measure Goppion display case. The maximum airtightness is achieved thanks to special circular section silicone seals and to a closing system using articulated quadrilateral hinges. Inside the exhibition case, a passive humidity regulating unit enables the optimum microclimate to be maintained to preserve the work, while extra-clear laminated glass guarantees the necessary transparency.

“Looking out of an imaginary window, in one of our display cases” - notes Alessandro Goppion - “the Lady with a Unicorn can be said to be satisfied with the respectful treatment to which she is entitled and that we will be sure to give her”.

The exhibition, entitled Raphael at Villa Berg, will be inaugurated on 19 March and is the first of a series of events that will take to Russia, among others, masterpieces by Botticelli, Giorgione, Michelangelo and Caravaggio.

“I enthusiastically accepted the invitation to curate this exhibition cycle with the aim of offering a significant contribution to the dissemination and knowledge of Italian art, being well aware that the cultural value of this project goes way beyond the intrinsic excellence of each individual work presented” - added Rossella Vodret, Special Head of the Roman Museum Pole - “because the promotion of our heritage involves the recognition of its social function, placing the pieces as factors in the development and growth of the community and as historical elements around which national identity is defined”.

According to the programme of the Italian Year in Russia, there will be no shortage in 2011 of important events in the fields of design, technological innovation and scientific research and of outstanding Italian skills in planning and production that highlight the creativity and industrial capacities of this country.

Founded in 1952, today Goppion is a world leader in the construction of exhibition systems for museums. A workshop of ideas in which the engineering of conservation meets the art of presentation, it is distinguished for its capacity to create display cases with high-performance characteristics as regards conservation, able to combine aesthetics and functionality. Icons of the cultural heritage of humanity, such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, The Vitruvian Man and the Dead Sea Scrolls, are already protected by Goppion systems. In the Laboratorio Museotecnico, the applied research, the experimentation with prototypes and the use of avant-garde materials and techniques are combined with a tradition of high-level technical craftsmanship. Sensitivity and professionalism distinguish Goppion enterprise culture in every phase of its relationship with the client and the production process, from planning to installation at the site.

The main layout designs created in recent years

• British Museum, London, The Wellcome Trust Gallery (2003)
• The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, The Shrine of The Book (2004)
• Musée du Louvre, Paris, Salle des Etats, Mona Lisa (2005)
• Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, (2006)
• Museum of the Monastery of Moni Iviron, Mount Athos (2006)
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London, The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art (2006)
• The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Egyptian Galleries (2006)
• Musée Départemental de la Céramique, Lezoux, (2006)
• The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Ceramic Gallery (2007), African Gallery (2008), American Indian Gallery (2009), Egyptian Gallery (2010)
• The Collection, Lincoln (2007)
• National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2008)
• Archaeological Museum, Ioannina (2008)
• The Newseum, Washington (2008)
• Museo di Arte Orientale, Torino, Sezione di Arte Cinese (2008)
• The British Museum, London, Watches and Clock Gallery (2008)
• Museum of the Acropolis, Athens (2009)
• Museo Diocesano di Savona, (2009)
• Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco, (2009)
• Musée de l’Armée , Paris (2009)
• Musée du Louvre, Paris, Galerie de la Venus de Milo et de la Melpomene (2010)
• Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’An, Tang Dynasty Mural Painting Exhibition Hall (2010)
• The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Bronfman Archaeology Wing (2010)
• The Smithsonian Institution, New York, National Museum of the American Indian (2010)
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Art of the Americas Wing (2010)
• Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo (2010)
• LaM - Musée Métropole d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut, Lille Métropole (2010)
• Musée des Beaux-Arts, Limoges (2010)
• Museo del Novecento, Milano, Il Quarto Stato (2010)
• Main layout designs currently under way
• Musée Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder
• Musée d'Art classique, Mougins
• Museo Archeologico, Milano
• The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, Bangkok
• Musée International des Hussar, Tarbes
• The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, National Museum of the American Indian