If you love Renaissance art, if you want to know about artists like Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Bronzino, or if you want to have more information on the 16th century from an artistic perspective, The Sixteenth Century Art in Florence (Il Cinquecento) art exhibition is for you. From 21 September 2017 till 21 January 2018 it will be possibile to admire 75 works of art made by 41 artists. It is part of a series of exhibitions curated by Antonio Natali and Carlo Falciani; the first one was called Bronzino (2010), and the second one was called Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino (2014).
There are 7 sections distributed in 8 rooms. These sections are called “The Masters”, “Before 1550” “altars of the Counter-Reformation”, “Portraits”, “The styles of the Studiolo. And beyond”, “Allegories and myths”, and finally “Heralding the new century”. Seventeen works have been specially restored for this event. The visitors can compare artworks which represent the same subject, like Deposition made by Pontormo, Deposition from the Cross made by Rosso Fiorentino and Bronzino‘s Deposition of Christ, or the Annunciation made by Francesco Salviati and the Andrea Boscoli‘s Annuncation.
The first two artworks which open the exhibition are the painting Lamentation over the Dead Chirst, made by Andrea del Sarto, and the sculpture River God, made by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Some artworks are based on sacred themes, such as the Christ and the Adulteress made by Alessandro Allori, and Girolamo Macchietti‘s Adoration of the Magi; other artworks portray the myths of the ancient Greek, like Hercules and Antaeus ny Bartolomeo Ammanati and the sculpture Mercury made by Giambologna. In addition to these works, there are different kinds of portraits, different altarpieces, six lunettes made by artists who were involved in the commissions for the Studiolo of Francesco I, and allegorical artworks.
There are two touchscreens which allow to see a family tree of the Medici family and pictures of eight restorations, which show the works before, during and after restoration. It’s also possible to create a special digital postcard, with a picture of the exhibition, and e-mail it to a friend.
Visitors can try to practice drawing in the Academy Room. At the end of the tour, they have the opportunity to become sixteenth-century artists, taking a special snapshot of themselves and having it framed. It is possible to choose among three different frames, representing motifs from the second edition of the Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari.
Copyright photo 1: www.palazzostrozzi.org
Copyright photo 2: www.sbap-fi.beniculturali.it
