Italian Prime Minister Takes Quick Tour of Reni Exhibit

It’s been a busy weekend for local art society, beginning with Friday night’s kickoff gala for the International Contemporary Art Fair, and continuing with Saturday’s fifth anniversary celebration for the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The third event of the social triptych took place Monday night, when the County Museum of Art opened the first American retrospective of the works of Guido Reni, featuring a whistle-stop appearance by the prime minister of Italy, Ciriaco De Mita.

Museum officials were, predictably, edgy. So were the dozens of Secret Service personnel, seemingly stationed in every niche of LACMA.

“This is the most senior event we’ve ever held in terms of protocol,” museum director Earl A. Powell III confided while waiting for the prime minister’s arrival--although LACMA has played host to dignitaries from all over the world, including the king and queen of Spain and the duke and duchess of York.

The prime minister gave everyone 20 extra minutes of nail-biting time by showing up slightly late. His delegation included the Italian consul general, Alberto Boniver; General Secretary Andrea Manzella; Italy’s Ambassador to the United States, Rinaldo Petrignani; and the prime minister’s son, Giuseppe De Mita.

Once the helicopter had arrived, all went smoothly, with a speech by the prime minister that referred to Los Angeles as “one of the most important cultural centers in the world” and Guido Reni as “a man of many contradictions--a painter of saints and madonnas, and an inveterate gambler.” He then cut the requisite ribbon (Italian red, white and green) to cheers from the guests.

Inside the museum, a crowd consisting of the prime minister, his entourage, the Secret Service and LACMA officials took a quick tour of the exhibit by the 17th-Century Bolognese master while the public stayed outside and sampled antipastos in the Times Mirror Central Court.

LACMA Board President Dan Belin tried to joke with De Mita--”If Italy doesn’t want the paintings back, Los Angeles will be glad to accept them.” The prime minister didn’t laugh.

De Mita and the Italian delegation whisked through the party, bade the guests arrivederci, and were gone, leaving guests to tour the exhibit and sample an Italian feast catered by Somerset: a pasta bar, grilled crepes, chicken with porcini mushrooms, salads and an apricot cake layered with soft cheese.

Sartorial monkeyshines--bolo ties, Reeboks, et al.--were refreshingly absent. In the mostly well-dressed and definitely well-heeled crowd were museum stalwarts like Kathy and Robert Ahmanson; Maurizio Armaroli, who coordinated the exhibit; Susan and Norman Barker, Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed and Dr. Mari Edelman, Jo Ann and Julian Ganz Jr., Suzanne and Joseph Marx (she just back from Washington), New York Times president Lance Primis (the newspaper sponsored the affair), Terry and Dennis Stanfill and Dee and Richard Sherwood.

Perhaps best of all, the evening wound down early, marking the end of a long social weekend for the many guests who had been spotted at all three major functions. Many of them grabbed their souvenir tote bags and were out the door by 9.