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A major exhibition on the best-loved Renaissance painter Botticelli 500 Years After
[Maddalena Delli]
After being dispersed for five centuries, some of the most important works by Sandro Botticelli are back in Florence for the major exhibition held at Palazzo Strozzi to honour one of the major contenders for best-loved artist of the Renaissance.A monographic exhibition on Botticelli (Florence, 1445 - 1510) was held at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris from September 2003 until February 2004. It now transfers to Florence, further enriched with several more loans from all over the world. Unlike the Paris show, the Palazzo Strozzi exhibition has a coprotagonist, since it also aims to investigate the intricate relationship between Botticelli himself and his pupil Filippino Lippi (Prato, ca.1457 – Florence, 1504), who was also the son of Botticelli's own master, Filippo Lippi.
Important Botticelli paintings from several collections in Florence are exhibited at Palazzo Strozzi alongside works which have been away for centuries, or in some case only just discovered, as in with the Botticelli painting found in Edinburgh in 1998. Other works come from museums in London, Moscow, Madrid, Paris, Ajaccio, Milan, Naples, New York, Boston, Chicago and several private collections.
In the light of the most recent studies on the work of Botticelli and the 15th century in Florence, the exhibition presents the most significant themes of Botticelli's art and retraces his stylistic evolution. In fact, the bringing together of so many works by this
great master enables direct comparisons which have never been possible until today.
From the early works in the style of Filippo Lippi, the the display leads us through to the masterpieces of Botticelli's maturity at the time of Lorenzo il Magnifico and finally to the later paintings, whose uneasiness reflects the disturbance and lacerations brought to Florence by the preachings of Fra' Gerolamo Savonarola. Hence the subtitle of the exhibition, “Uneasiness and grace in 15th century Florentine painting.”
To illustrate Botticelli's varied activity there will also be the drawings he made for Dante's Divina Commedia. Also significant to understand the cultural context in which Botticelli and Filippino lived and operated is the presence of works by artists close to
their cultural sphere, such as Piero di Cosimo and Leonardo da Vinci.
The Filippino section also displays several important loans including the Pietŕ from Washington, the Portrait of a Musician from Dublin, the Noli Me Tangere from the Seminario Patriarcale of Venice and the Tondo Corsini, from the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze collection.
The exhibition aims to convince the public of what experts have been stating for some time: although little known to the many, Filippino is no lesser genious than his celebrated master. After all, Botticelli himself was almost forgotten from his death until the early 20th century: could this be Filippino's big chance for a major comeback?
Botticelli e Filippino. L'inquietudine e la grazia nella pittura fiorentina del '400 is at Palazzo Strozzi (piazza Strozzi) from 11th March to 11th July.
Daily opening 9am to 9pm (Fri to Sun late closing at 11pm)
Info and bookings 055.2660278 or www.botticellipalazzostrozzi.it
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http://www.botticellipalazzostrozzi.it