On the 500th anniversary of the Mona Lisa, one might pause and wonder about the subject and her family, the Del Giocondo. Curator Camilla Bruschi did just that, and through March 5, the Studio Art Centre International (SACI) is running a small, interesting exhibition, Family Memories of the Del Giocondo, in its gallery on via Sant’Antonino 11.
The exhibit is a fitting one: SACI is located Palazzo dei Cartelloni, once known as Palazzo Viviani. The building was constructed on top of the ruins of the home of the Del Giocondo family, to which Mona Lisa Gherardini belonged.
The exhibit traces the many generations of the renowned family and showcases objects and photos that decorated their home. Among the objects on display that were created especially to adorn the Del Giocondo home is a glazed majolica by Giovanni della Robbia depicting the Del Giocondo coat of arms. This rare piece came from Florence’s Sant’Orsola convent, where Mona Lisa Gherardini, the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic painting, Mona Lisa, died. Also on display are three fragments of fifteenth-century bowls featuring the family’s coat of arms. The exhibit also considers Mona Lisa in the present. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the exhibit focuses on Mona Lisa as muse to contemporary artists. On loan from the Mona Lisa Collection conserved in the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci is a selection of contemporary interpretations of the Mona Lisa illustrating modern society’s continued fascination with Leonardo’s subject.
The Mona Lisa Collection, conceived and curated by architect Laura Villani, holds a selection of re-interpretations by a contemporary stylists and designers who give Mona Lisa a ‘designer look,’ and the SACI exhibit features two important terracotta busts created Alessandro Mendini and Mariuccia Mandelli (from the fashion house Krizia). Other internationally acclaimed artists and designers, such as Elio Fiorucci and Ottavio Missoni also rose to the challenge of revamping her ‘look’ based on what the iconic image ‘said’ to them. These varied versions of the Mona Lisa are emblematic of each designer’s personal style.
The Mona Lisa Collection is a traveling exhibit, visiting cities around the world from New York to Monte Carlo, Cairo and New Delhi. Catch these unique versions of Leonardo’s muse at SACI before they take flight.
MEMORIE DI CASA DEI DEL GIOCONDO
(Family Memories of the Del Giocondo)
Until March 5, 2010
SACI Gallery, via Sant’Antonino 11, Florence
Tel. 055/289948; email gallery@saci-florence.edu
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday, 1pm to 7pm
Admission free
