1895
During the winter of 1894-95, work continued on the construction of the
Palazzo dell'Esposizione (Exhibition venue) in the Giardini di Castello. The
design was by the council's architect, Enrico Trevisanato, and the neoclassical
facade by Venetian artist Marius De Maria. Its name was initially "Pro Arte" and
was subsequently changed to "Italia." On April 30, the I Esposizione
Internazionale d'Arte della Città di Venezia (1st International Art Exhibition
of the City of Venice) was opened in the presence of the King and Queen, Umberto
I and Margherita di Savoia. The exhibition met with great public acclaim, and
received 224,000 visitors.
1902
On May 18, the new Modern Art Gallery opened at Ca' Pesaro, thanks to a
bequest from duchess Bevilacqua-La Masa. Its management was left to the
Biennale's secretariat.
1907
The first national pavilion opened in the Giardini di Castello (Belgium,
designed by Léon Sneyers).
1910
On April 27, futurist poet Marinetti arranged a drop of anti-Biennale
leaflets in St Mark's Square. The first names of international repute appeared
on show, with one room dedicated to Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, and a
retrospective dedicated to Courbet. Fradeletto had a work by Picasso removed
from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo, fearing that its novelty might
shock the public. The Spanish artist had his first work exhibited at the
Biennale only in 1948.
1914
The facade of the Pro Arte Pavilion was restored. With the inauguration of
the Russian pavilion, the number of national pavilions in the Giardini other
than the Italian Pavilion rose to seven: those of Belgium (1907), Hungary
(1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914).
Between 1916 and 1918, the Biennale was cancelled because of the First World
War.
1920
For the first time, the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale
was split: the government commissioner, Nunzio Vitelli, appointed Giovanni
Bordiga as president, while the new secretary general was Vittorio Pica. This
marked the first presence of avant-garde art at the Biennale (Impressionists,
Post-impressionists, Die Brücke). These were promoted by Pica, who had been
interested in the Impressionists since 1908.
