Muscles, mythology and giant bronze feet are some of what to expect in the latest exhibition at Palazzo Medici Riccardi. On display from September 10 to January 5 and curated by Daniel Blau, Sergio Risaliti and Valentina Zucchi, the show is a surprising and intriguing dedication to the technical richness of European Mannerist graphic art, collected and extensively researched by Georg Baselitz.
Creating continuity from the Baselitz AVANTI! exhibition at Museo Novecento as it concludes on the cusp of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi show, the display shares around 150 prints from the artist’s private collection, alongside four of his own sculptures and enriched by loans from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
Artists who defined printmaking are at the heart of the project, exalting their experimentation and exploration in a manner that also honours Baselitz, who passed away this year. “Florence played a profound role in my father’s life and art,” said Daniel Blau, the exhibition’s curator and the artist’s son. “Without the time spent here, I’m certain his work would have been different. He loved these prints dearly, and we had hoped he might finally see them exhibited in the city he loved so much. That was not to be, but as he said shortly before he passed away, ‘Up there, there will surely be a small open window. I’ll be watching from there.’”
Albrecht Dürer (Nuremberg, 1471–1528), THE RHINOCEROS, 1515, woodblock, printed c. 1620, woodcut with green tone block on paper, 215 × 303 mm, Baselitz/Blau Collection
Niccolò Vicentino (active 1540s), after Raphael (Urbino, 1483–Rome, 1520), *The Miraculous Draught of Fishes*, c. 1540–49 (reprinted 1609), chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks in two shades of ochre and black on paper, 248 × 350 mm, Baselitz/Blau Collection.
Words by Georg Baselitz illuminate the vision behind both his practice and his collection: “I’m interested in those borderline cases in art where established ground becomes uncertain and the classical vision disintegrates. Beyond that point, things come alive.” And certainly there’s a weaving of influences and eras that blends together the story of printmaking in an interesting fashion, placing rhinoceroses near fantastical figures and dramatic tales encapsulated in postage stamp-sized pieces. 16th century masters are posited behind the contemporary pieces by the German-Austrian artist Baselitz, with the careful curation offering a path through the artistic languages of the great artists of Europe, bringing together works by Italian, French, German and Flemish masters including Andrea Mantegna, Juste de Juste, Hans Sebald Beham, Antonio del Pollaiolo and Hendrick Goltzius.
Display cases featuring tools and equipment related to various printmaking techniques are curated by the Il Bisonte Foundation, assisting in visitors’ understanding of the complex processes behind the craft, while guided tours and family activities enhance the experience, with the exhibition promoted by the Metropolitan City of Florence and organized by the MUS.E Foundation.
