a cabinet of wonders exhibits science artifacts as art installations at palazzo grimani in venice

Venice’s Palazzo grimani hosts a cabinet of wonders exhibition

Palazzo Grimani in Venice hosts A Cabinet of Wonders, an exhibition showcasing life science artifacts as art installations. They come in the form of a 17th-century Wunderkammer (Cabinet of curiosities), and most of the objects on view are loaned from the George Loudon Collection. Running between December 15th, 2024, and May 11st, 2025, visitors see life science objects as artworks on the piano nobile of the palace: in the Sala di Psiche, Camerino di Apollo, Camerino di Callisto, the Chapel and its vestibule, the dining room, and the Neoclassical room.

The exhibition at Palazzo Grimani in Venice doesn’t only showcase life science objects coming from the George Loundon Collection. Rare artifacts such as paintings, bronzes, antiquities, and masterpieces of the decorative arts share the same space too, loaned from institutions such as Vienna’s MAK – Museum of Decorative Art, (Museum für Angewandte Kunst) as well as Venetian institutions, including the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Ahead of the exhibition’s opening, designboom speaks with Dr. Thierry Morel, the show’s curator, who tells us that he streamlines the rooms, the displayed objects, the scenographies, and the arrangements of the pieces to invoke the feeling of a collector’s home.

all installation view photos by Matteo de Fina unless stated otherwise, courtesy of Museo di Palazzo Grimani

Scenography changes from renaissance to anatomy and botany

For the exhibition design at Palazzo Grimani in Venice, Dr. Thierry Morel has collaborated with the scenographer Flemming Fallesen for the setup of each room and used fabrics by Rubelli as additional backdrops in some spaces. Visitors don’t get to see the life science objects when they enter the first room in the palace, the Sala di Pscihe, because it’s designed as a Renaissance-style display with paintings, tapestries, sculptures, objets d’art and furniture. It’s more of an introduction to the history of Palazzo Grimani and its classicity and a hint at the age of the collections throughout the exhibition. The next rooms are the Camerino di Callisto and Camerino di Apollo. The former evokes a Renaissance scholar’s study, while the latter is covered with prints by French artist Erik Desmazières.

Then, visitors walk first through the Sala del Doge, with a selection of Giovanni Grimani’s Greek and Roman sculptures that have recently returned to the Palazzo after 400 years. At last, the pieces from the George Loudon Collection begin. Dr. Thierry Morel and Flemming Fallesen have carefully curated and placed over 250 pieces in the last four spaces. They focus on human anatomy, botany, and the living beings, including a shattered skull, lifelike reproduction of anatomical models, rotten fruits, flora and fauna, a skinless turkey and its egg, a book of classification of butterflies, and more. Some, if not most, of the artifacts are out in the open without any casings. ‘I think the glass, for me, destroys the magic of the objects,’ Dr. Thierry Morel tells designboom during our interview.

the room that showcases objects related to marine and land life

No visual texts in this exhibition at palazzo grimani in venice

For rooms so full of historical artifacts, Dr. Thierry Morel opts not to add any visual texts or descriptions on the walls or next to the displayed objects. ‘I want you to look at things rather than read things because curiosity should be born out of objects,’ he shares with designboom. The information about the artworks is available by scanning the QR code in the given guidebooks, but inside this exhibition at Palazzo Grimani in Venice, visitors go with their guts, with their intuition. ‘I thought, there are so many objects in these spaces, and it’s actually quite rare to see so many artifacts in a showroom, so I couldn’t put a label,’ he adds.

From a design perspective, the curator adds that having texts around the exhibition can be overpowering; they can shadow the collections and shy the spotlight away from them. ‘Why would I bore you with texts?’ says Dr. Thierry Morel. ‘We’re so used to texts, and we can read them – are drawn to them – easily. They might look at them and not at the artworks because they could feel, ‘I’m not an art connoisseur or an expert, so I can’t look at these paintings or artworks’ and that’s not true. The power of the texts or screens with texts would somewhat be stronger than the scenography here, and what I want is for you to visit the exhibition and discover what’s in there.’

next to the marine and land life section is the room for botany artifacts

Dr. Thierry Morel explains to designboom how he curates the rooms for A Cabinet of Wonders. He says that for this exhibition at Palazzo Grimani in Venice, the main rule is to recreate the atmosphere of the palace in the 17th century to give visitors the idea of the period the objects were collected as well as the history of the building itself. This is evident in the first three rooms, with the use of red velvet fabrics to depict the Renaissance era and the warm lighting to highlight the colors of gold for the materiality of the palace and the displayed objects.

Passing by these rooms, the George Loudon Collection has a different mood. There’s a chapel that resembles a crypt, so the curator feels this is the best place to showcase the anatomical models of sliced-open and cracked body parts. In the next room, the floor is covered with hay, thin metal rods hold up rotten fruits and different species of flowers, and replicas of mushrooms and flowers in pots – both used for scientific studies – complete the scenography.

eight models of mushrooms in late 19th century, courtesy of France George Loudon Collection | all photos from the George Loudon Collection by Rosamond Purcell (unless stated otherwise)

The last room comes alive with a projection mapping of the movement of water because this space depicts the marine and land life, with glass cases of butterflies sharing the same mirrored surface as the skinless turkey ready to take a fake flight. Behind this room, there’s a ‘secret’ nook for the natural crystals covered in transparent glasses. ‘Each room suits the items we have in them, and you can also see their connection with the ceilings. For example, in the botany room, the ceiling has a painting of nature. It’s amazing that these ceiling murals were created hundreds of years ago. These artistic quests are timeless,’ Dr. Thierry Morel tells designboom.

A Cabinet of Wonders is also a homage to the art of collecting, one that’s hopefully passed onto the visitors as they roam around the exhibition at Palazzo Grimani in Venice. When asked if he sees any difference between the Renaissance and contemporary collecting practice, Dr. Thierry Morel shares that collectors in the past may have been slightly more ‘learned’, a skill acquired through education and studies. ‘I think sometimes collecting can be done just because you have the money, but the collecting practice I’m interested in, which is in this show and the same practice of George Loudon, is collecting of the mind, with education, with curiosity, with a focus on craftsmanship too,’ the curator tells designboom. ‘It’s an effort that should have a meaning and essence to yourself as well.’

view of the mushroom models | image © designboom

natural crystals covered in transparent glasses | image © designboom

human torso anatomical model mid-19th century plaster, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London

wild turkey anatomical model made by Dr. Louis T.J. Auzoux, 1885, papier mâché, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London | photo by Matteo De Fina

anatomical model of a skull | image © designboom

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Orchis militaris Military orchid didactic model approx 1880, papier mâché, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London | photo by Matteo De Fina

Portuguese man o' war didactic model made by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka mid to end of 19th century glass, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London

Anatomical figure of a man mid to late 19th century wood, paint, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London | photo by Matteo De Fina

(Euplectella aspergillum) Display of Venus's flower baskets late 19th century Venus's flowers, plaster, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London

Pomegranates didactic models made by Francesco Garnier Valletti (attributed) late 19th century wax, pigments, courtesy of George Loudon Collection, London | photo by Matteo De Fina

project info:

name: A Cabinet of Wonders: A Celebration of Art in Nature 

curator: Dr. Thierry Morel | @thierry_morel

museum: Palazzo Grimani | @museopalazzogrimani

location: Rugagiuffa, 4858, 30122 Venice, Italy

collection: George Loudon Collection (United Kingdom)

institutions: Vienna’s MAK – Museum of Decorative Art, (Museum für Angewandte Kunst), Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, Scuola Grande di San Rocco | @mak_vienna, @galleriagiorgiofranchetti

photography: Matteo De Fina, Rosamond Purcell