THE SUPERB CITY The Italian port city of Genoa,

The art of Genoa has been a well-kept secret. Many of the greatest works are in palazzi and villas, in the form of frescoes created for private enjoyment. Most of the scholarship about Genoese art has been carried out by local academics without worldwide reach, and there have been few exhibitions outside Genoa itself. So outsiders can’t exactly be blamed for failing to appreciate the fact that from around 1600 to 1750, this port city on Italy’s west coast was one of the creative powerhouses of the Italian Baroque, ranking with the far larger cities of Rome, Naples, and Bologna.

Not since 1992 has there been a comprehensive museum exhibition dedicated to Genoese Baroque art, and in the U.S., never. However, American viewers are about to get an unprecedented opportunity to experience its glories. From September 26 through January 9, “A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750” will be on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Organized by the National Gallery of Art and the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, with special cooperation from the City and Museums of Genoa, the exhibition is curated by Jonathan Bober, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, National Gallery