 by Silvia Messeri
The "variety and pride" of a free era
Paintings, sculpture, prints and examples of goldsmithery make up the 200
circa masterpieces that can be admired in the exhibition on "The Mannerist
Workshop. Variety and pride in 16th century Florentine art between the two
Republics". Prepared by Antonio Natali,
the exhibition (at the Uffizi until January 6th 1997) is part of the celebrations
organized for the fifth centenary (1494-1994) of the birth of Jacopo Carucci,
known as Pontormo, and Giovanni Battista di Jacopo,
known as Rosso Fiorentino.
Michelangelo, the "Doni Tondo" |
Its chronological itinerary starts in 1494, the year the Medici
were thrown out of Florence, moves through the first Republic (1502-1512)
and concludes in 1530, with the return of the Medici and the end of the
second Republic. During this period we find artists like Pontormo and
Rosso coming to the fore and, with them, an entire generation of artists
who had the possibility of expressing themselves at a time of great renewal
and creative autonomy. The exhibition, divided into seven sections, offers
an interesting itinerary that starts with an Annunciation by Botticelli,
continues with some splendid Madonnas by Andrea
del Sarto, the drawings Michelangelo and Leonardo carried out
for the Battle of Anghiari, prints by Dürer and ends suggestively
with the Halbard Bearer by Pontormo which, on loan from the Paul Getty
Museum in Malibu, has come back to the city where it was painted especially
for this occasion. Most of the works in the exhibition come from Florentine
museums and collections but also include loans from private collections
and museums from all over the world, like the Hermitage in St. Petersburg,
the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest and the National Gallery of Art in
Washington.
Jacopo Pontormo, "Halbard Bearer"
- Malibu, Paul Getty Museum |
The actual location of the exhibition provides yet another reason
to visit it. It has in fact been set up in fifteen rooms of the Uffizi, specially restored for the occasion,
which until now have always been closed to the public. These rooms contained
the State Archives from the mid nineteenth century and, before them, the
laboratories of the semi-precious stone cutters and cabinet makers. "The
Mannerist Workshop. Variety and pride in 16th century Florentine art between
the two Republics". Firenze, Uffizi Gallery until
January 6th 1997 Hours 10am-6pm closed on Mondays.
FAN-Florence
ART News
by
Silvia Messeri & Sandro Pintus
|
