Klimt at Villa Manin – Nuda Veritas in Italy

Villa Manin in Passariano, a half-hour drive from Udine, is hosting Gustav Klimt’s painting Nuda Veritas (1899) from May 21 to September 6, 2026. This loan from the Theatermuseum in Vienna is a testament to the international cultural dialogue fostered by the collaboration between the Ente Regionale Patrimonio Culturale del Friuli Venezia Giulia (ERPAC FVG), MondoMostre, and the KHM Museumsverband.

The venue is the historic Villa Manin, which served, among other things, as the residence of the last Doge of Venice and as temporary quarters for Napoleon Bonaparte, who concluded the Treaty of Campo Formio here with Francis II of Austria. Today, the villa—surrounded by an 18-hectare English landscape garden—provides a space for exhibitions and events.

The exhibition “Nuda Veritas. Klimt – Un Capolavoro A Villa Manin” centers on Klimt’s masterpiece of the same name and explores his connections to Italy, the complex meaning and diverse interpretations of Nuda Veritas, and the theme of truthfulness to which Klimt’s portrait, with its symbols, alludes. The juxtaposition of the painting with the frescoes by Luis Dorigny—who adorned the villa with a pictorial program centered on beauty, desire, identity, and transformation—creates a link between the historic setting, early 18th-century art, and Viennese Modernism.

Klimt painted Nuda Veritas in 1899 in response to the growing incomprehension that the public showed toward him and his art. The full-length female nude was first presented at the IV Secession Exhibition in 1899. The following year, it was acquired by Klimt’s friend and supporter Hermann Bahr. It is a call for truthfulness in art, taking the form of the personification of the “naked truth” as a life-size nude figure who holds up a mirror to the viewer. The message is emphasized by a quote from Friedrich von Schiller:

„KANNST DU NICHT ALLEN GEFALLEN DURCH DEINE THAT UND DEIN KUNSTWERK = MACH ES WENIGEN RECHT. VIELEN GEFALLEN IST SCHLIMM.“

[“IF YOU CANNOT PLEASE EVERYONE WITH YOUR DEEDS AND YOUR WORK OF ART, THEN PLEASE A FEW. PLEASING MANY IS BAD.”]

Today, the painting is regarded not only as a defense of artistic freedom but also as the work through which Klimt attributed a socio-politically significant role to art.

Further Information:

Exhibition website