Museo Novecento celebrates ten years since its inauguration in 2014 with a major exhibition titled Returns: From Modigliani to Morandi dedicated to the history of one of its most prized ensembles, the Alberto Della Ragione Collection.
Donated to the City of Florence following the devastating flood in 1966, the works are now reunited with the invaluable masterpiece by the Livornese artist, Amedeo Modigliani. The idea conceived by the director of the museum, Sergio Risaliti, sees the rooms of the former Leopoldine on the second floor of the museum transformed for the occasion, with the exhibition curated by Eva Francioli, Chiara Toti and Sergio Risaliti on show until September 15.
Modigliani’s Self-Portrait has not been displayed in Italy since 1946, loaned for the occasion by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of São Paolo, Brazil. Co-curator Chiara Toti elaborates: “The works all once belonged to Alberto Della Ragione, a refined collector who, in 1930, was one of the first to dedicated himself to the purchase of modern artworks, contributing to the renewal of tastes in Italy, that were still stuck in 19th century painting”.
The donation of the collection to the City of Florence in 1970 offered the works for public enjoyment, with 19 works by great masters of the 20th century in Italy brought together again for this exhibition, including Giorgio Morandi’s Metaphysical Still Life, Carlo Carrà’s The Enchanted Chamber and Renato Guttuso’s Crucifixion.
