As summer ends and autumn’s chill sets in, an afternoon at the museum sounds ever more inviting. With numerous art exhibits in Tuscany this fall exploring a range of genres and media, from pop art and contemporary photography to avant-garde, fashion and Renaissance masters, expanding your cultural horizons has never been easier and more enjoyable!
Marilyn
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, via Tornabuoni 2, Florence
Until January 28, 2013
Tel 055/3562455
Style icon, movie diva, femme fatale, myth of female beauty and sensuality: the world’s fascination with Marilyn Monroe has never been stronger than now, 50 years after her death. To mark the event, Ferragamo Museum’s current exhibit, Marilyn, tells the story of her fame and pain through photos, movie clips, curvy clothes and sexy shoes. (See TF 167.)
Florence: A Year of Art
Until the end of 2012
Various museums in Florence
Tel 055/294883
Six temporary exhibitions held in various museums around Florence, including The New Frontier. The history and culture of Native Americans, from the collections of the Gilcrease Museum, an exhibition at the Pitti Palace focused on the indigenous peoples of North America, particularly those affected by early European colonisation. (See TF 167.)
The Thirties: The Arts in Italy beyond Fascism
September 23, 2012 to January 27, 2013
Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi, Florence
Tel 055/2645155
Fascist Italy saw not only political upheavals but also struggles between contrasting artistic styles and creative tendencies. This exhibit’s more than 100 paintings, sculptures and design objects by many of the most significant artists of the time, tell the story of this crucial period and its vibrant and innovative arts scene. The exhibit includes a series of interactive activities for kids in English and Italian, as well as guides in both languages.
Francis Bacon and the Existential Condition in Contemporary Art
October 5, 2012 to January 27, 2013
Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina, Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi, Florence
Tel 055/2645155
What is man’s relationship with his surroundings? How can and should man be represented? Paintings by Bacon that deal with these themes are placed in dialogue with works by five international contemporary artists, giving life to the timeless questions of man’s existential condition and the depiction of the human figure. Remember that entrance is free every Thursday after 6pm!
Florence through the Eyes of an Artist
Until October 28, 2012
Pitti Palace, piazza dei Pitti, Florence
Tel 055/23885
Discover intriguing, charming and lesser-known corners of the city as the story of Florence is told through art by contemporary painters. The exhibition is an eclectic mix of different styles, interpretations and historic periods, from the eighteenth century to the modern day, depicting the vistas and panoramas of the city.
Luxury and Fashion: A Teenager in Fashion
Until October 8, 2012
Museo Stibbert, Museo Horne and Museo Bardini
Tel 055/475520
September is the last month to see this style-inspired exhibit, which presents the collections of Giovanna Ferragamo from the 1960s to the 1980s, a very important period for the development of female fashion, much of which took place in Florence. Giovanna Ferragamo’s influential designs are presented on mannequins, as if they were guests at the museum, or parading on a catwalk-just as they were originally.
From Fattori to the Novecento
Until November 4, 2012
Villa Bardini, costa San Giorgio 2, Florence
Tel 055/20066206
Take an artistic journey through the sunny landscape and charms of Tuscany with this exhibition, which includes 150 previously unseen artworks from the personal collections of Roster, Del Greco and Olschki. The exhibit includes rare cityscapes of Florence and a series of photographs from the collections of the families.
Wassily Kandinsky, from Russia to Europe
October 13, 2012 to February 3, 2013
Palazzo Blu, lungarno Gambacorti 9, Pisa
Tel 050/916950
Over 50 works from the Russian artist considered to be the father of abstract painting. The exhibition is a journey of 20 years in the artist’s life (1901-1922), from his studies of the traditions and cultures of the Russian empire, to his decision to leave Soviet Russia. From symbolism to avant-garde, the exhibit focuses on the visual and conceptual roots of Kandinsky’s works, including several rare objects of the shaman tradition.
David LaChapelle
Until November 4, 2012
Lu.C.C.A. Centre of Contemporary Art, via della Fratta 36, Lucca
T 0583/571712
Legendary American photographer David LaChapelle is known for combining hyperrealistic aesthetic with social messages. His striking images have been on the cover of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, and he has photographed celebrities from Madonna and Eminem to David Beckham and Muhammad Ali. Over 50 stunning shots will be on display.
Ordinary World
Andy Warhol, Pietro Psaier and the Factory artworks; Keith Haring, Paolo Buggiani and the Subway drawings.
Until November 4, 2012,
various locations in Maremma
Unconventional and explosive, pop art began in America in the 1960s and soon spread throughout the world, infiltrating politics, economics and many aspects of social life. This exhibition, which is located several locations in Maremma, draws on the intellectual and existential links between Warhol and Keith Haring, his artistic and spiritual heir, enriched by the works of Buggiani, fellow street artist and ‘flying skater’ of New York.
Siena Cathedral Unveiled
Until October 24, 2012
Duomo di Siena, piazza del Duomo, Siena
Tel 0577/286300
The magnificent marble floors of Siena’s cathedral, described by Vasari as ‘the greatest, most beautiful and magnificent there ever was,’ are rarely unveiled for the public. For a limited time, visitors will be able to see wooden marquetry by Fra Giovanni da Verona and the frescos by Domenico Beccafumi in the apse, as well as other normally concealed areas of the cathedral.
The Renaissance in Arezzo
Until November 18, 2012
Various locations in the Arezzo area
Tel 055/2340742
www.rinascimentointerradarezzo.it
This beautiful corner of Tuscany becomes a living museum of Renaissance creativity. This vast exhibition, Rinascimento in Terra d’Arezzo, is located in museums throughout the Arezzo area and features works by such masters as Beato Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Donatello, Neri di Bicci, Andrea della Robbia and Filippo Lippi.
Twentieth-Century Art in Viareggio
Until November 25, 2012
Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, piazza Giuseppe Mazzini 22, Viareggio
Tel 0584/581118
The exhibit comprises 80 rarely seen artworks from one of the most important group collections in Florence. The collection was largely compiled after the flood of 1966, when Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti asked all contemporary artists to donate their work to the city. The request was met with extraordinary success both at the time and in the following years, and the collection continued to grow throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
