On the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the death of Michelangelo, the city of Florence, the State Museums and various committees have put together a lineup of exhibitions and activities related to the great artist. Amongst the first of these is an exhibition of 23 sensuous, black and white photographs by Aurelio Amendola representing the sculptures of the Medici Chapels, the David and the Prisoners. “Il potere dello sguardo” is on at the Museo delle Cappelle Medicee until March 15, 2014.
The stony faces and bodies that we are so used to seeing head on are rendered from suggestive angles, with stark contrasts of black and grey. Giuliano peeks around a corner. Dawn rolls over lazily towards you. David shows off the best angle of his backside.
Whoever dares doubt that Michelangelo had an unusual talent for bringing out the human element from blocks of Carrara marble?
The choices made by the photographer, with lighting, angle and cropping, bring a new interpretation to the works of Michelangelo. As Soprintendente per il Polo Museale Fiorentino, Cristina Acidini, says:
“Amendola’s creative answer to Michelangelo’s works opens new gates to understanding, wide open doors towards intellectual and aesthetic pleasure of works of art that, despite being well known, are all the same miraculously relevatory of themselves, under the lights and in front of the lenses of such a great master of 20th and 21st century photography. The photographs by Amendola suggest to me the feeling that one can ‘touch with ones eyes’ by looking and returning to [the works] each time as if it were the first.”
This selection of images is part of a collection 83 photos by Amendola that will be published later this year in a large format volume produced by Utet Grandi Opere FMR.
Visitor information
“Il potere dello sguardo”
Museo delle Cappelle Medicee
Jan 8 – March 15 2014
Open daily 8,15-13,50 (sundays and mondays rotate opening), ticket cost 6€
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