Escape the heat this summer by exploring the best exhibitions that Florence has to offer in its best- and lesser-known, often air-conditioned museums. Alternatively, check out the outdoor art installations up at beloved Forte Belvedere and in Giardino dell’Orticoltura. There’s something for all art lovers this summer in Florence!
Michelangelo & the 20th Century
Until October 20
Casa Buonarroti, via Ghibellina 70, Florence
Celebrating the 450th anniversary of the death of Michelangelo, the exhibition Michelangelo e il Novecento is dedicated to the artist and his works over the course of the last century. Firstly focusing on the life of the artist, which centred on Casa Buonarroti and other Italian and Florentine institutions, the exhibition continues to showcase the presence of Michelangelo in 20th-century visual culture. See www.casabuonarroti.it for more.
FRAC Champagne-Ardenne
Until July 31
Marino Marini Museum, piazza San Pancrazio, Florence
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the twinning agreement between Florence and Reims, the Marino Marini Museum showcases a selection of major works from the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne collection for the very first time in Italy. The collection consists of more than 800 artworks representing the diversity of aesthetics and mediums in contemporary art practices from the 1960s to present day. See www.museomarinomarini.it for more.
Museo 900
On-going
Museo Novecento, piazza Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Dedicated to the Italian art of the 20th century, the Novecento Museum offers a selection of around 300 works located in 15 exhibition areas, as well as a cabinet for drawings and prints. Discover contemporary artistic Florence through paintings, sculptures, videos, installations and documents. The museum, structured chronologically, thematically and in an interdisciplinary way, creates an immersive experience that combines artworks and multimedia installations.
Travels to the East
Until October 5
Casa Martelli, via Ferdinando Zannetti 8, Florence
The photography exhibition at Casa Martelli, Viaggio in Oriente, has been extended until October 5. The 24 portraits were purchased by Carlo Martelli (1850–1945) during his travels in the Holy Land and the Orient (many from French photographer Émile Béchard). They come from Alexandria, Cairo Port Said, Jaffa and hallowed sites of the Holy Land including Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. A number of photos from northern Africa are also on display. Depicting the beautiful colours, the light and the people, these photographs are a wonderful insight into everyday life in this part of the world.
Islam
Until November 9
Stibbert Museum, via Federico Stibbert, 26, Florence
www.museostibbert.it
The Islamic section at the Stibbert Museum, together with the Japanese section, showcases some of the rarest collections of weapons and armoury in Europe. This exhibition hosts a hundred of Frederick Stibbert’s finest and most interesting pieces of Islamic arms and armour.
Flavia Arlotta
Until September 6
Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Florence
This exhibition showcases works from the twentieth-century female painter Flavia Arlotta. Nearly 30 paintings by the Sorrento-born artist are on display, which span a time period running from 1933 to 2005. Celebrated for the profound simplicity of her landscapes, portraits and still-life works, the twentieth-century artworks are on display until September 6. Read more about the artist and exhibition here,http://theflr.net/nd9zgb
Officine Galileo: 150 Years of History and Technology
Until September 7
Galileo Museum, piazza dei Giudici 1, Florence
Celebrating 150 years since the foundation of the Galileo Workshop, the Galileo Museum has opened a new exhibition dedicated to the 150 years of history and technology that strongly impacted Florentine society and culture. The exhibition is divided in three parts: from the workshop to the factory (1863–1914); the two world wars (1914–45); and from the post-World War II period until today (1945–2014). It features over 60 instruments manufactured by Officine Galileo all throughout its lifetime.
Jacopo Ligozzi, Pittore Universalissimo
Until September 28
Galleria Palatina, piazza Pitti, Florence
Jacopo Ligozzi was an important painter in the court of Francesco I de’ Medici, where he was noted as active from 1577 until his death in Florence in 1627. This new exhibition at the Palatine Gallery is the first monographic show on Ligozzi, looking at his oeuvre in a thematic manner. Although recognized for his exquisite drawings of birds and rabbits, amongst other things, in his role as court artist Ligozzi was also an able portraitist. Read the TF exhibit review here, http://theflr.net/xp5hlg
Donatello’s Prophets
Until November 30
Baptistery, piazza del Duomo, Florence
Until the end of November, Florence’s Baptistery will exhibit three exceptional works by Donatello: The Beardless Prophet, The Bearded Prophet and The Prophet Jeremiah. The three marble sculptures were originally created for the bell tower of Florence’s Duomo. After extensive restoration work, they are now on display to the public, so all can marvel at the marble! More information here, http://theflr.net/sbod4m
Outdoor Art
Various locations in Florence, throughout the summer
Prospettiva Vegetale: Sculpture artist Giuseppe Penone has installed a number of works of art in the Boboli Gardens and at Forte Belvedere, representing the link between sculpture, architecture and landscape. The landscape-inspired, site-specific sculptures explore the relationship between man and nature.
The Tree of Frogs: This art installation from artist Daniele Bosica features trees in Florence’s Giardino dell’Orticoltura (via Bolognese 17, Florence) filled with 300 silicon coloured frogs. Frogs are animals who adapt to living in water and on land and represent the artist’s message of the adaptability of mankind. Call 328/4836602 for more information.
Dialogue: A new art installation has opened in the Gherardesca Gardens at Four Seasons Florence. The essence of the exhibit is to bring together generations of incredible contemporary artists in dialogue with noted works of art from the past and is the creative idea of Ugo Riva. Visit http://press.fourseasons.com/florence for more.
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