Special Edition: Honoring Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger
/Battle of Pavia February 24, 1525
AFC at the Louvre, 2023.
Dear AFC Friends,
It has been ten years, five AFC Fellows, three AFC presidents, and two Capodimonte Museum directors since the AFC’s inception. It all began with Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger’s vision.
Introducing the American public to Capodimonte Museum was a top priority during Bellenger’s tenure from 2015 to 2023 and he wanted an American Friends nonprofit group formed to help him do that. He was tireless in his enthusiasm and his insistence that the museum deserved to be recognized as one of the most important in Europe with a collection that is larger and as good as or better than the Uffizi’s. He welcomed Americans and foreigners alike and made the museum accessible to all for the first time with English wall text.
AFC President Cristina Del Sesto with Sylvain Bellenger and AFC Fellow Caroline Paganussi in Paris, 2023.
Museum attendance grew exponentially. Well-planned and scholarly international exhibitions with Bellenger’s signature originality traveled from Hong Kong to Paris to United States, among other places. He has left no doubt that Capodimonte is magnificent and worthy of worldwide attention.
The last exhibition he organized while Director of Capodimonte is Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries. One art critic described the tapestries as Renaissance masterpieces that were among the most remarkable works of art ever created. The exhibition opened at the Kimbell Art Museum last June and went on to the de Young/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Its final stop is the museum of Fine Arts Houston. It opens March 2 and runs through May 26.
Museum attendance grew exponentially. Well-planned and scholarly international exhibitions with Bellenger’s signature originality traveled from Hong Kong to Paris to United States, among other places. He has left no doubt that Capodimonte is magnificent and worthy of worldwide attention.
The last exhibition he organized while Director of Capodimonte is Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries. One art critic described the tapestries as Renaissance masterpieces that were among the most remarkable works of art ever created. The exhibition opened at the Kimbell Art Museum last June and went on to the de Young/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Its final stop is the museum of Fine Arts Houston. It opens March 2 and runs through May 26.
It is fitting that we celebrate Director Emeritus Bellenger on the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Pavia. This Frenchman has won the battle for hearts and minds of Neapolitans, Italians and Americans alike. He has created an indelible mark on Capodimonte Museum and on those of us who were fortunate enough to visit with him at the museum or one of the exhibitions he curated.
This newsletter is devoted to his legacy, which includes the AFC itself and the AFC Fellows. It has been an honor of a lifetime to have worked with Sylvain and to witness him realizing the dream of what could be for Museo e il Bosco di Capodimonte.
Cristina Del Sesto, AFC President
AFC Board
Giovanni Lombardi, Honorary President; Nancy Vespoli, Vice Chair; Vincent Buonanno, Founder and President Emeritus; James Anno, Program Director; Mary Ellen Countryman, Treasurer: Gretchen Hirschauer, Secretary; Tory Gath; Henrietta Hakes; Bartley Livolsi; and Francis Prins
Interview with Sylvain Bellenger
Q: Sylvain, the question everyone has for you is how and why — out of all the objects in Capodimonte's collection that are smaller in size and would have been much easier to loan — did you conceive of the Battle of Pavia tapestries exhibition for the U.S.?
Bellenger: The answer is easy. First, in considering the importance of the renovation work at Capodimonte that would take for at least two years, I had planned to close Capodimonte and had planned and organized exhibitions of the collection as an international promotion of the museum before the grand reopening of the palace. The new minister of culture decided differently, and although visiting Capodimonte during the renovation is difficult and frustrating, he didn’t want to close the museum. However, since the Louvre exhibition and this one were planned so far ahead of time, they had to go on.
Q: Why the tapestries?
Bellenger: Because Capodimonte is not only a big, rich and important pinacoteca, but also a great place for porcelain and decorative art in general, including this extremely important set of Flemish tapestries that were commissioned for Charles V of Habsburg. Another motivating factor was the need to restore the tapestries and the exhibition made funding that possible. Finally, 2025 is the 500 anniversary of the Battle of Pavia.
“Thanks to Sylvain Bellenger’s vision, the recovery of the Royal Park of Capodimonte as a safe haven for family outings and a physical activity has received important impulses, and the installation of a new, far more efficient HVAC system in the museum has commenced. It is our goal to continue and further these projects, integrating them with many others.”
Watch Director Emeritus Sylvain Bellenger Give a Tour of the Pavia Tapestries to AFC Members in Naples
A Word from Vincent Buonanno, AFC Founder and President Emeritus
Ten years ago, Sylvain disclosed to me and fellow Art Institute patron Julius Lewis that he planned to leave The Art Institute of Chicago to accept the directorship of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. He asked us to form a nonprofit to support his new Italian endeavor.
American Friends of Capodimonte Founder Vincent Buonanno with Amici di Capodimonte President Errico di Lorenzo, 2019
We modestly began to plan a way to build new cross-Atlantic cultural links and introduce art-loving Americans to Naples and the Capodimonte, one of the three largest museums in Italy. This newly formed group, to be known as the American Friends of Capodimonte, achieved 501 c 3 status to even out the tax- deductible playing field with other not-for-profits.
After meeting with Sylvain, Cristina Del Sesto determined that our mission would be to sponsor a postdoctoral curatorial fellow to work at Capodimonte. By 2016, we had selected James Anno. Annual trips were planned to fund the fellowship and since then we have funded five AFC fellows and we are soon to announce our sixth.
Sylvain’s stellar eight years at Capodimonte are well known to us. There have been a series of brilliant exhibitions, at home and away; a reconfiguration of the museum’s vast assets; and the articulation of a plan for the restoration of the museum and its grounds.
In the meantime, the AFC board has grown from four to eleven members and we’ve had three presidents. I’d like to thank all of those that have served and are serving on the AFC board: Cristina Del Sesto (President), Nancy Vespoli, (Vice Chair and former President), James Anno (Program Director), Gretchen Hirschauer (Secretary), Mary Ellen Countryman (Treasurer), Victoria Gath, Henrietta Hakes, Bartley Livolsi, Francis Prins, and additionally the late Julius Lewis (Co-Founder), Laurie Bay (Founding Board Member), Mary Humenansky (Former Board Member), Ben Patton (Former Board Member), as well as our two Honorary Chairmen: Giovanni Lombardi and Maestro Riccardo Muti.
The trips, the achievements, the press, the enthusiasm; all have been remarkable. The most exciting recent events were Naples a Paris, an extraordinary loan exhibition at the Louvre of more than 50 canvases, which many of us witnessed and enjoyed, and the Pavia Tapestries exhibition which has traveled to Fort Worth, San Francisco, and will soon open in Houston. Sylvain organized it all.
I am grateful to Sylvain who inspired us in Chicago to form our organization, which carries on supporting the museum through the work of its fellows and continuously introduces more English-speakers to the wonderful collections of Capodimonte. The AFC will be a long-lasting part of Sylvain’s legacy in Naples.
Vincent J. Buonanno, AFC Co-Founder and President Emeritus
The Battle of Pavia was fought on February 24, 1525 and changed the course of European history.
“The Battle of Pavia tapestries are, quite simply, one of the most important works of art created in northern Europe during the sixteenth century. If they had been made in fresco, they would be world renowned, but as tapestries they have been overlooked. The opportunity to view them on this US tour is unprecedented and not to be missed.”
A Word from Nancy Vespoli, AFC Vice Chair
I had the honor of getting to know Director Bellenger during my four-year tenure as AFC President. He is the most creative person I have ever met. He came to Capodimonte thinking he would be running a fine arts museum, but in addition to inheriting the management of the Royal Palace, he became responsible for one of the largest parks in Italy, along with its 17 outbuildings. Moreover, everything needed a lot of work.
When my husband, Mike, and I visited Capodimonte, Director Bellenger first took us to see the Belvedere fountain. Under his direction over a ton of limescale deposits had been removed. Nearby, twenty-foot high weeds had been trimmed to reveal the extraordinary view of the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius. At that point, he had been in charge for just a matter of months. These two acts are representative of the decisive and constant improvements Director Bellenger implemented on a daily basis over the course of his eight years running the museum and the royal park, and curating significant exhibitions around the world.
Among his triumphs was the 2023 exhibition Naples a Paris at the Louvre. While Capodimonte was being overhauled, Sylvain negotiated with the Louvre to host an exhibition in the iconic Grande Galerie of sixty Capodimonte masterpieces, rather than putting them into storage. I can go on and on about his accomplishments, including the addition of two restaurants in the grounds, the San Gennaro chapel renovation by Calatrava, and the numerous other exhibitions which he curated while running the museum and grounds as its Director. For our AFC Fellows, it was a singular experience to be a part of the transformation.
Although I am sure Director Bellenger is greatly missed at Capodimonte, he created a lasting legacy by setting it on a trajectory to reclaim its position as one of the greatest urban parks and museums in all of Italy.
Nancy Vespoli, AFC Vice Chair and Former President
AFC Members were shown around the Battle of Pavia tapestries exhibition in San Francisco by AFC fellow Emma de Jong and AFC Program Director and former fellow James Anno, 2024.
A Word from James Anno, AFC Program Director
AFC Program Director working on installation of the Pavia Tapestries exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. It opens March 2 and runs through May 26.
Serving at Capodimonte with Sylvain Bellenger remains a watershed experience in my professional life. When I arrived to the museum, my eyes were opened to the immense beauty of the royal palace and the collection. I also perceived the immense challenges ahead not only for Dir. Bellenger, but for me as well. I studied Dir. Bellenger in detail, watching and taking notes as he overcame one obstacle after another. His resilience, clarity of vision, creative spirit, and art historical acumen served as pillars that guided how I sought to make meaningful contributions to the museum.
I had a front row seat to observe and collaborate with Dir. Bellenger in the early years of his tenure. In moments of great trial and uncertainty, Dir. Bellenger always reminded me that the most simple of tasks are impossible in Naples, but miracles happen every day. It is true! Those words of encouragement continue to guide me in the present. His fortitude and commitment to the mission remain exemplary in my professional experience.
My time at Capodimonte bears fruit in the present. Since my arrival in 2019 to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, I have curated two exhibitions with Dir. Bellenger: Portrait of Courage: Gentileschi, Wiley, and the Story of Judith (2023) and now Knights in Shining Armor: The Pavia Tapestries (2025). Our continued collaboration is a testament to the importance of the AFC Fellowship and the AFC’s enduring contribution to the cultural diplomacy between Italy and the United States.
Thank you, Sylvain, for your myriad accomplishments, years of service and leadership, and untold contributions to Capodimonte and the city of Naples
James P. Anno, AFC Program Director and ‘17-’19 AFC fellow
The AFC Serves One of Europe’s Greatest Museums
The American Friends of Capodimonte (AFC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to build awareness in the English-speaking world of one of Europe’s greatest museums. Thanks to our Capodimonte Fellowships, we are the first and only American organization to place talented, young American art historians directly inside an Italian museum. Our members and donors enjoy private tours, events, and dinners in the Museum and Royal Park. When works from the Capodimonte collection travel to America, we invite all who contribute to join us for events and exhibitions. For more information, check out our website: https://www.americanfriendsofcapodimonte.info/