Florence 2010: a year of great exhibitions

From Caravaggio to the cameos of the Medici, from the bronzes of the Baptistery to the nuptial rooms of the 15th century—six exhibits that range from the Renaissance to the Baroque for “An year of art: Florence 2010”—a project of the Polo Museale Fiorentino in collaboration with the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and Firenze Musei.

The themes of antiquity, Humanism, the Medici and the 1400s are exalted in tthe exhibit “Prestige and beauty. Cameos and intaglios of the Medici,” which takes place March 25 – June 27 at the Museo degli Argenti at Palazzo Pitti.

The anniversary of Caravaggio (1610) has inspired a double-exhibit “Caravaggio and the Caravaggeschi in Florence” (from May 22 – October 17 at the Galleria Palatina at Palazzo Pitti and at the Uffizi), which presents a new look at the Caravaggesque masterpeices and a movement to which the Medici and other great families dedicated themselves passionately.

Thee international relationships of the Medici dynasty are the theme of an exhibit dedicated (together with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux) to Henry IV of France, assassinated in 1610. The king, husband of Maria de' Medici, was commemorated in the church of San Lorenzo with a version of his life painted by various Florentine artists: a unique series which will be displayed in the Cappelle Medicee after a recent restoration. The exhibition “Paris is worth a mass!” takes place from July 15 – November 2 at the Museum of the Cappelle Medicee.

With “Vinum nostrum, art science and the myth of wine in the civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean” (July 20 – May 15, 2011 at the Museum degli Argenti) in collaboration with the “Galileo Museum”, archeology and science are placed alongside art in an exhibition that examines wine culture and wine, one of the oldest and most wide-spreading phenomena of civilization. The culture of drinking, which, to this day is the motivation for investments and advances in technology, crosses populations and epochs in the Mediterranean, inspiring continuous creativity.
The Galleria dell’Accademia hosts “The Virtue of Love, nuptial painting in the Florentine 15th century” (June 8 – November 1) which introduces the visitor to the private universe of the nuptial suite in the 1400s, richly embellished with works of art. Images from history and mythology populate the wedding chests, deschi and bed heads, today dispersed around the world. Painted by great masters and lesser-known talents, these scenes form a colourful and vivacious repertory that offers models of virtue and stories of love, historic events and tragedies, to instruct and advise the newlyweds.

Recently restored by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore together with the “Friends of Florence”, the three great 16th century bronzes by Giovanfrancesco Rustici are back in Florence in an exhibit at the Bargello after a tour in Atlanta. The exhibition “The great bronzes of the Baptistery Rustici and Leonardo” is open from September 10 – January 10, 2011.
The Polo Museale Fiorentino celebrates contemporary art with the exhibition “In the way of today. Base in Florence” open from February 3 – April 11, 2010. Eight contemporary artists (Mario Airò, Marco Bagnoli, Massimo Bartolini, Paolo Masi, Massimo Nannucci, Maurizio Nannucci, Paolo Parisi, Remo Salvadori) are included in this trail which includes some of the most historically important museums including: Galleria degli Uffizi, Galleria dell’Accademia, Museo di San Marco, Cenacolo di Ognissanti, Chiostro dello Scalzo, Piazza Duomo, Palazzo Sacrati Strozzi and the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte.
After the great success of the exhibit Art and Illusions, Palazzo Strozzi presents its calendar of future exhibits. The first to open is De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus. A look into the invisible, open February 26 to July 18, 2010, while Bronzino. Artist and Poet will open on September 24, 2010 and run through January 23, 2011.

There are two important events in connection with this second exhibit: a concert on March 6 at the Metroplitan Museum in New York City, where the composer Bruce Adolphe proposes a piece of contemporary music written for the event and inspired by the poem “La Cipolla” by Bronzino (the European debut is at the Goldoni Theatre on October 8); and a contest to translate the artist's poetry into English, with a choice between two of Bronzino's poems, “La Cipolla” and “Del Pennello”.

Meanwhile the Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina, on the lower level of the Palazzo, proposes “Gerhard Richter and the disappearance of the image in contemporary art” (February 20 – April 25, 2010) and “As soon as possible. Time and social acceleration” (May 14 – July 18, 2010). More information about Palazzo Strozzi's 2010 calendar can be found at their website http://www.palazzostrozzi.org/