Collectors and Futurists

Tuesday April 19th, 2016 , More than art

Mario Sironi, telegraphist, 1926.

Collectors and Futurists

Collectors and Futurists. The centenary of Umberto Boccioni’s death has awakened great interest in this important 20^th century artist, but also in Futurism.
2016 have already been characterized by a strong interest in the exhibition dedicated to Boccioni himself at the Palazzo Reale in Milan (to which I dedicated the post Boccioni. Genius and Memory), and in the tour of the exhibition at the Museo del Novecento (the Museum of the 20^th century) in Milan devoted to the “pre-futurist” season.

Futurism was obstructed for decades by critics who labelled it as a fascist artistic movement, and it wasn’t a matter for the debate about contemporary art in the second post-war period.
In addition, Futurism was ignored by collectors for a long time.
In fact, Futurist artists always aligned themselves, were politically active, and a lot of them joined Fascism, as I touched on in the post about Futurism.
Futurism was re-discovered only in the 1970s, and since then works by Futurists have become desirable objects for a lot of people.

the Madonna of parturition by Piero della Francesca

Monday April 18th, 2016 , Artists and Works

The Madonna del parto (the Madonna of parturition) by Piero della Francesca

The Madonna del parto (Madonna of the parturition) by Piero della Francesca. One of the most fascinating and mysterious masterpieces by Piero della Francesca is located in Monterchi, in province of Arezzo.
It’s a fresco painted for a lateral altar in an old country church in the hill town of Monterchi.

It’s not clear the reason why Piero della Francesca, who was already a very famous artist, painted a fresco with such an uncommon theme in a small village. Probably the fresco was a homage to his mother, Romana di Renzo di Monterchi, who was born in this place.
This painting is characterized by a delicate beauty and an aura of mystery, that is to say features typical of Piero’s works, which arouse more doubts than certainties in the spectators, as I described in the post about the Brera Altarpiece.

On Sunday at the natural history museum of Venice

Sunday April 17th, 2016 , Cities of Art, Museums

On Sunday at the natural history museum of Venice

Natural History Museum of Venice. There are some museums I have always wanted to visit, but I haven’t visited yet, and there are still in my things-to-do-slowly-list.

Among them there’s the Natural History Museum of Venice, which I had the chance the visit on a Sunday I had nothing to do. And now I’m writing this post to suggest that you all should visit it, because it’s amazing.

The Macchiaioli. The collections revealed

Saturday April 16th, 2016 , Events and Exhibitions

Federico Zandomeneghi, Il giubbetto rosso, 1895 circa, Antica collezione Camillo Giussani.

The Macchiaioli. The collections revealed

Macchiaioli in Rome. It is certainly interesting to know an artistic movement such as the movement of the Macchiaioli, but to discover the works within the context of the private collections that originally held them is fascinating.

The exhibition dedicated to the Macchiaioli arranged in Rome at the Chiostro del Bramante on view until September 4^th 2016, shows over 110 works of art that belonged to great collectors of the past, who were cultured and refined personalities, art patrons who shared a great passion for painting and love for beauty.

The Grand Priority in Rome on the Aventine Hill

Friday April 15th, 2016 , Cities of Art

The Grand Priority in Rome on the Aventine Hill

The Grand Priority in Rome on the Aventine Hill. Enclosed on two sides by cypresses, the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta was planned by Piranesi in 1765 and is best known for a small hole in the arch-headed central portone, through which the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica can be viewed at the end of a garden allée framed in clipped cypresses.

The place is the seat of the Villa del Priorato di Malta, a complex of buildings with gardens which is home to the Grand Priority in Rome of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an order of chivalry, which remains a sovereign entity. It also hosts the embassy of the Order of Malta to Italy.