Five works worth a trip
In many cities in Italy, there is one piece of art that stands out above all others. This week, I will highlight five Italian cities and the one precious work of art, or an artist’s composite of works. These works often do not receive ample attention in guide books, but I feel they should not be missed!
Volterra
The work: Deposition From the Cross (1521) by Rosso Fiorentino
Hosted in Volterra’s Palazzo Minucci-Solaini, the Art Gallery and Civic Museum, Room X; via dei Sarti 1.
Open 9am–7pm, March to November; 9am–2pm, November–March.
Entrance fee: 8 euro. Telephone: 058/887580
This splendid, recently restored wood panel is considered to be the masterpiece of this Tuscan Mannerist painter. Rosso Fiorentino draws attention from the figure of Christ being taken from the cross and focuses on the mourners and Mary Magdalene, who throws herself at Jesus’ feet. The figure of St. John, who clutches his head and turns from the scene, gives a disquieting intensity to the work.
The artist: A Florentine by birth, Rosso Fiorentino was a pupil of Andrea Del Sarto. He was a leading figure in the early development of Mannerism, together with Del Sarto’s other pupil, Pontormo. His works are highly charged with emotional energy, and he was known for filling canvases with electrifying, vibrant colors. Some of his works in Florence include his Marriage of the Virgin (1523) located in San Lorenzo and The Assumption which can be found together with a series of Mannerists frescoes hosted in the Chiostrino dei Voti, of Santa Maria Annunziata. (See related article on Volterra: page 200)
Pietrasanta
The work: Two frescoes by Fernando Botero
Hosted in the Chiesa S. Antonio Abate, Via Mazzini 101
The small, 16th century church of S. Antonio Abate contains the only two frescos Botero has created, which he completed in 1993. On the right is a rather placid Door into Paradise, and on the left is a rather gruesome but amusing Door into Hell. All the figures he depicts are either historical or legendary and depict his usual robust, inflated forms. A true delight!
The artist: Fernando Botero (Columbia, 1932– )
In 1953–1954, Botero sojourned in Italy and frequented San Marco in Florence, ‘copying’ many works by Giotto and Andrea del Castagno. During the day, he studied the techniques of the fresco painters and, at night, he worked on his oil paintings in his studio in via Panicale, which had belonged to painter, Giovanni Fattori. Botero’s passion for the Italian Renaissance was further stimulated by lessons with Roberto Longhi. He has a summer home in PietraSanta, where he creates and makes his sculptures in marble, as do many other well known artists/sculptors.
With my focus on women artists, I should mention that Botero is married to Sophia Vari, a famous artist in Italy. Vari, born in Athens, Greece, in 1940, began as a painter before moving to three-dimensional sculpture in bronze, then to marble. In the early 1980s her works became abstract, and by the mid 1990s, she applied color to her sculptures. Outdoor solo exhibitions of Vari’s monumental sculptures have been shown in many cities, including an exhibition at the Palazzo Vecchio and in the Piazza della Signoria, hosted in Florence in summer 2002.
Outside Capalbio
Localita Garavicchio, Grossetto
The work: The Tarot Garden (Giardino dei Tarocchi) by Niki de Saint-Phalle
Open April 1 to October 15, 2:30pm–7:30pm.
Entrance fee: 10.50 euro.
Telephone: 056/4895122; tarotg@tin.it
Niki de Saint-Phalle’s The Tarot Garden (Giardino dei Tarocchi) was largely influenced by Gaudí’s Parc Guell in Barcelona. She wanted to make something of a similar nature, a monumental sculpture park, but created by a woman. In 1979, she acquired land in Garavicchio, Tuscany. The main part of the work was carried out in the 1980s and during construction she lived in the sphinx-like Empress building—a mirror-glassed cavern with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. After more than 20 years of work, she opened it to the public in 1998.
This stunning and whimsical sculpture garden, features pieces that are composed of mirrors, glass, and ceramic mosaics—materials she had not used before. She explores the human condition on a monumental scale, and the brightly colored combinations of buildings and sculptures reflect the metaphysical qualities represented in the 22 main tarot cards. Her works do not reflect the fortune-telling use of the cards. Rather, they represent elements of life’s experiences and self-knowledge by exploring the relationship of man/woman to nature. It’s a wonderful place to introduce small children to art!
The artist: Niki de Saint -Phalle (1930–2002)
Niki de Saint Phalle was born in 1930 in France. She began producing her first paintings in 1950 and sculptural assemblages followed. In 1965, she created her first ‘Nana’, large, voluptuous brightly painted female figures, made originally in papier mâché and later in polyester. She and her husband, Jean Tinguely, created many kinetic (moving) works together that are on display all over the world.
Carmignano
The work: The Visitation (1528–29) b
y Jacopo Pontormo
Hosted in the Church of San Michele, Piazza San Michele1.
Open every day 7am–11am. Telephone: 055/8719024.
The painting is just sitting on an easel on a side altar, and it is not lighted.
The Visitation (1528–29) has a magical, glowing quality and is known for its glorious colors and animated gestures, particularly those of Mary and Elizabeth (mother of St. John the Baptist), two of the four subjects. The faces of the two women in the background are a mirror image of Mary and Elizabeth. It is one of the most unforgettable images painted in the 16th century. Originally created for the Villa Pinadori in Carmignano, this painting has been in this parish church since 1740. Studies for The Visitation are part of the Uffizi’s prints and drawing collection.
The artist: Jacopo Pontormo (1494–1556) Pontormo apprenticed with Andrea del Sarto in Florence. In his earlier years, Fra Bartolomeo influenced him significantly and in later years, he was highly inspired by Michelangelo. For more about Pontormo, see “Mosaics”in issue 41 of The Florentine, where I discuss his incredible Deposition of Christ located in the Church of Santa Felicita.
Palermo, Sicily
The work: Virgin Annunciate (1476) by Antonello da Messina
Hosted in room 10, in the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia Palazzo Abatellis, via Allora 4.
Open every day 9am–1pm and Tues/Wed/Thurs afternoon 2:30pm–7:00pm.
Telephone: 091/6230011 (call for opening hours)
The work and the artist: Antonello da Messina (1430–1479) was born in Sicily. He studied in Naples and Rome and worked in Venice. Sicily’s Renaissance Master, he is credited with bringing a new technique of oil painting to Italy. His Virgin Annunciate is one of, if not the, most important masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. It shows Mary, turned toward the viewer, interrupted at her reading by the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel, who is not shown. Her hand is raised in a gesture of acceptance, and the heavy blue fabric that covers her head and body is haunting. Created with a mixed oil and egg tempera technique on a wood panel, this unique work is small in size. It’s an image that remains in the viewer’s mind forever, for it is truly an incredible work of art!
