With the new season come new temporary exhibitions in Florence! Here are the shows on in Autumn 2013.
Villa Bardini, From Paris to Florence and back
Until Dec 31, 2013
I reviewed this excellent exhibit already here. It’s a small but high quality display of Renaissance paintings and a few sculptures collected by the French couple whose collection was later left to the state. While the weather holds out, combine this show with a stroll in the Bardini Gardens.
Palazzo Strozzi: Russian Avant-garde
Until January 19, 2014
So far, I am not a huge fan of this exhibit of 20th century Russian and Siberian art – it’s not a period that I find produced particularly visually attractive works, though I am sure they are interesting to study. I will reserve final judgement until I get to see it through an educational experience with Palazzo Strozzi staff next month, but if you wish to read an interesting review of the show, see this one on The Florentine.
Strozzina: Unstable Territories
Until January 19, 2014
I was at the press preview of this contemporary art exhibit at the Strozzina last week and played anchorwoman in the video below. A dozen international artists explore concepts of nationalism and territory in a global world. The topic is interesting and some of the work produced is too, though the usual question “is this art” comes up more than once while viewing this show.
Laurentian Library: Bocaccio author and copyist
Until January 11, 2014
I haven’t seen this exhibit of Boccaccio codices that commemorates the author on the 700th anniversary of his birth. The exhibit includes both texts by Boccaccio and manuscripts copied in his hand. This video in Italian explains it well. Entry to see Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library is included with the exhibit.
Prato, Palazzo Pretorio and other locations: Filippo Lippi
Until January 13, 2014
Yes, it is worth the trip to Prato. The exhibit reminds us that great Renaissance artists like Donatello and Filippo Lippi worked in Prato, a town now better known for its Chinese population and factories. An attractive loan exhibition is set up in the newly restored city hall (Palazzo Pretorio), and although it doesn’t contain any recognizable masterpieces other than a Lippi we could see any time at Palazzo Pitti, it’s interesting to see how all these works relate to the Pratese production of important artists. Then head to the Duomo to see the frescoes, and to the Museo del Tessuto for Renaissance textiles set up next to paintings that represent them. Please see my longer review here.
Museo di San Marco: Mattia Corvino a Firenze
Until January 6, 2014
The San Marco Museum hosts an exhibit dedicated to the Renaissance King of Hungary, known in Italian as Mattia Corvino and in English as Mattia Corvinius, his Latin last name. It’s here because 2013 is the year of Hungarian-Italian cultural exchange, and the choice of San Marco is a nod to the King’s humanistic leanings. The King’s taste for humanistic Florentine art influenced choices in the Hungarian court, and the exhibit reconstructs this selection.
Some of the other exhibits already mentioned in my post on Summer exhibits in Florence 2013 from the Un Anno ad Arte series in the state museums are still on until mid-Fall.
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