Promotional materials for Wuji: Masterpieces from Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Photo: Courtesy of Chengdu Museum

An art exhibition titled the Infinite Universe of Wuji: Masterpieces from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, is set to kick off at Chengdu Museum in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Friday as part of celebrations for the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism.

Promotional materials for Wuji: Masterpieces from Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Photo: Courtesy of Chengdu Museum

The exhibition brings together a total of 62 masterpieces created by well-known 19th and 20th century art figures such as Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, Italian expressionist painter Amedeo Modigliani, Italian artist Giuseppe Giorgio De Chirico and many more. 

According to the Chengdu Museum, the total value of the art on display is more than 1 billion yuan ($140 million).

Wei Min, director of the museum's Planning and Research Department, told the Global Times on Thursday that the exhibition is an important event for the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism in 2022.

She described the exhibition as "unprecedented" and held to "the highest specifications" as it marks the first time that the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna has brought such rare authentic artworks on this large a scale to China.

Among the exhibited works, the masterpiece The Gardener by Van Gogh is debuting for the first time in China, along with Portrait of Hanka Zborowska by Modigliani and The Disturbing Muses by Giorgio De Chirico, she added.

The exhibition first debuted at The China Millennium Monument in Beijing on July 23, while Chengdu is the second and last stop on its tour of China. 

"Chengdu and Rome have maintained close cultural ties for many years as the two places have a long history of cultural communication dating back to the ancient Silk Road. We hope we can carry out more cultural cooperation in the future," said Wei.

"These are cultural diplomacy initiatives that reaffirm the strength of culture as an instrument of soft power and a factor of rapprochement between peoples," said Italian Ambassador to China Luca Ferrari , according to a report from Italiani All'estero TV.

Visitors must book tickets online and show a negative nucleic acid test result good within 24 hours to enter due to the current COVID-19 flare-up. However, the virus has not discouraged the passion of Chinese art lovers as the museum's available 8,000 tickets nearly sold out on the first day of online booking, 2.5 times than the number of tickets sold at the Beijing stop, according to the museum.

"The exhibition has received a warm welcome from visitors across China. Many netizens have commented that they were willing to take a train or plane just to feast their eyes on these rare authentic artworks," said Wei.

According to Wei, the museum has launched some online forums and multimedia activities including an immersive visual program for the painting The Gardener, as well as playing some informative documentaries provided by the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna to help visitors better interpret the meaning behind the paintings. 

The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna is the only national-level museum in Italy completely dedicated to modern and contemporary art. It has a collection of the most remarkable artworks by European artists. The exhibits on display this time are all from its permanent exhibition.