by Sandro Pintus
Telemaco Signorini, a retrospective exhibition
The paintings on display at the Pitti Palace
The retrospective exhibition of the work of Telemaco Signorini, which includes
about one hundred and thirty paintings by the artist and is the largest
to have been held up until now, will be open in the White Room of the Pitti
Palace until this coming April 27th. An exhibition to celebrate one
of the most important artistic figures of the last century that not only
displays a series of paintings, drawings and etchings but also signed documentary
material, the artist's collection of photographs and various historic publications.
Sponsored by the City of Florence, the Florence, Pistoia and Prato Boards
of Artistic Assets and the Gallery of Modern Art at Pitti Palace, with the
collaboration of Artificio, this exhibition, which is extremely interesting
for its size and variety, displays as much of Telemaco Signorini's work
as it was possible to put together, much of it also thanks to loans from
private collectors.
The cover page of the exhibition |
For the first time we can in fact admire a large-scale exhibition
of the work of the painter which, in five rooms, covers the various periods
of his artistic life, including the masterpieces carried out between 1856
al 1890. The first section is dedicated to his youthful work and includes
a group of paintings on the epic deeds of the Risorgimento like the "Battle
of Solferino", as well as paintings dating from his early "Italian Impressionist"
and "Castiglioncello and Piagentina" periods. The city views and landscapes
include paintings of Siena and Ravenna as well as the work he carried
out on his travels in France and England. The views of Edinburgh and Leith
or a street in Bath perfectly illustrate the daily life of the times which
was not apparently so very different from that in Italy. The section dedicated
to "Florence and the Old Market" contains some really beautiful paintings
as well as about ten etchings. Here we can find views of parts of the
city that have long since disappeared, the ghetto, demolished when Florence
became the capital of Italy, and brilliant and bustling scenes from daily
life.
One of the photos in the exhibition:
Telemaco Signorini can be seen in the centre with Giulio De Gori
Pannilini and a friend |
The section on the years of his maturity displays a portrait of Nene;
the artist adopted this little girl as his daughter and carried out a
great many drawings of her. The paintings of the Isle of Elba conclude
the exhibition itinerary and include one of his finest and most famous
works, the "Penal bath at Portoferraio", whose atmosphere gives an impression
of a newspaper photograph, especially when compared to his other landscapes
with their vast and calm views of the Isle of Elba. Florence - Pitti Palace,
White Room February 8th / April 27th 1997 Exhibition opening hours: 10
a.m./7 p.m. Price of tickets L. 12.000/L. 10.000/L. 8.000 Reductions are
available for schools For further information and bookings Tel. 055 215271/fax
055 280813
FAN-Florence ART
News Email: csplanet@comune.firenze.it
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