Taking a stroll through the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi these days you may feel you’ve gone back to the Renaissancein China, that is. Fondazione Strozzi’s newest exhibition, China: At the Court of The Emperors, is a spectacular celebration of China’s Golden Age that brings together over 100 masterpieces from the Han tradition to Tang elegance, covering the years from 25 to 907AD. Splendid frescoes, spectacular stone sculptures, exquisite gold and silver objects, precious ceramics, dynamic terracotta statues, exotic glass, refined jewels, precious lacquer—many of which have never been seen before in the West—are on display. The Tang era was a renaissance for the arts, crafts and literature, a time of great social, economical and cultural development for China. The Silk Road, which linked the Far East to Asia and the Mediterranean, opened China to foreign influences and resulted in a remarkable cosmopolitanism reflected in the art of the time.
One of the highlights of the exhibition are the marvellous frescoes that reveal different aspects of Chinese society at that time, including the importance of foreigners in the political world, various aspects of costume, women’s fashion, and the extremely intricate hairstyles. These examples, when compared to a very rare fresco from the previous Han dynasty (only three have been discovered), not only illustrate the delicate and sentimental language of Tang portraiture but also underline the importance of tolerance in a cosmopolitan society.
China: At the Court of the Emperors
Palazzo Strozzi
March 7, 2008 through June 8, 2008
Friday through Wednesday, 9 am to 8 pm – Thursdays 9 am to 11 pm
Last admission one hour before closing
Entrance fees: full price 10 euro; reduced 8.50, 8,
and 7.50 euro ; schools 4 euro
Information and booking: Sigma CSC – Tel. 055/2469600 – cscsigma@tin.it
