Toulouse-Lautrec: the Lights and Shadows of Montmartre on show in Pisa

Toulouse-Lautrec on at Palazzo Blu, Pisa

The protagonist of the big autumn season at Palazzo Blu, Pisa, is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, whose extraordinary production of graphic works has profoundly innovated the art world, opening the doors to modernity and overcoming nineteenth-century themes and canons.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Astride Bruant dans son cabaret, 1893, litografia a colori, poster

With his outstanding production of paintings, posters and lithographs, Toulouse-Lautrec has succeeded more than any other in describing and portraying a city, a way of life, the colours of a whole generation and, more generally, the true lifestyle of Paris towards the end of the nineteenth century. This is the Paris of the Moulin Rouge, of Montmartre of the maisons closes, when, at the turn of the century, the Ville Lumiére was the undisputed capital of the art world.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Femme se frisant, olio su cartone, 59 x 39 cm, Tolosa, Musée des Augustins

On display are all Toulouse-Lautrec’s most famous posters, along with lithographs, drawings and a selection of paintings from some of the major international public and private collections. These paintings have been carefully selected so as to enhance the fundamental core of the graphic works, which have consecrated the artist as one of the giants of European art as well as paved the road to modernity and to the spread of advertising posters turned into a work of art by the French artist.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1893, litografia a colori, manifesto

Opening on October 16th, the exhibition intends to present the remarkable artistic and human adventure of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to both the Italian and international public.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, 1891, litografia a colori, manifesto

On until February 14th. Opening hours from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 7 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays until 8 pm. Full price ticket costs 10 Euros.

 

 

Pubblicato in Art exhibitions, Art exhibitions in Tuscany, Art in Pisa, Events in Pisa, Exhibitions in Pisa, Pisa, Tuscany | Contrassegnato , , , , , | Lascia un commento

SYNCHRONICITY. Contemporaries, from Lippi to Warhol on at Palazzo Pretorio, Prato

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The magnificent red bricked Palazzo Pretorio of Prato is housing until the 10th of January 2016 the exhibition: SYNCHRONICITY. Contemporaries, from Lippi to Warhol. Curated by Stefano Pezzato, the show hosts some of the most significant post WWII artistic pursuits.

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All the works are inserted in its own historical-artistic course with Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Daniel Spoerri, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Matthew Barney and Vanessa Beecroft, to name a few, placed side to side with the likes of Filippo Lippi and Donatello, with late Gothic panels and Renaissance altar-pieces and on through the centuries to the masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth century on show in the loggia.

03 Andy Warhol, Portrait of Giuliano Gori, 1974

SYNCHRONICITY is a project designed to promote the contemporary art that has been cultivated in this part of Tuscany, the area between Florence, Prato and Pistoia, as a consequence of the intense economic, social and cultural development it has undergone in the last sixty years.

04 Piero Gilardi, Mele, 1968

Among the various collections there are video installations which will enhance the involvement of the Palace’s 15th-century halls as well as elucidate the composition themes that link modern to ancient. Thus Marina Abramovic will be confronted with Caravaggio and Piero Gilardi will find his place amongst the still lifes of the late 18th-century.

05 Lorenzo Bartolini, Fiducia in Dio, 1834

Opening hours, from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. Full price ticket costs 8 Euros.

06 Michelangelo Pistoletto, Venere Maria-Nudo color seppia, 1962-1974

Pubblicato in Art exhibitions in Tuscany, Art in Prato, Exhibitions in Prato, Prato, Tuscany | Contrassegnato , , , , , , , , , , | Lascia un commento

The Castle of Sammezzano goes to auction for 22 million Euros

Castello di Sammezzano 01
The picturesque 17th-century Castle of Sammezzano set in the Florentine Valdarno in Leccio, near Reggello, is up for auction starting at 22 million Euros.

Castello di Sammezzano, interno 01_05

This breathtaking, eclectic building was originally built in 1605 by the Spanish nobleman Ximenes of Aragon. Between 1853 and 1889 Ferdinand Panciatichi Ximenes remodelled it into one of the largest examples of Moorish Revival architectural.

Castello di Sammezzano, interno details 01_01

In the post World War II era the palace served as a luxury hotel, later it was abandoned and was put up for auction in 1999. Today this estate counts 13 buildings with their own grounds amongst which the hotel, Casale Borghetto Pirelli, the hunting lodge, Casale Quartaio, Casale Sociana, two ruins, the Park Keeper’s house, the Refreshment House, the Marnia Club House, the Terpini building and the surrounding park with its age-old trees.

Castello di Sammezzano, interno Sala dei Gigli 01_02

The park is one of the largest in Tuscany and was built in the mid-nineteenth century by Ferdinand Panciatichi exploiting the surrounding farmland as well as an ilex grove. A large amount of exotic tree species were planted, whilst the garden architecture, a bridge, a grotto with a statue of Venus, the ponds and fountains, are all in the Moorish style.

Castello di Sammezzano, interno Sala dei Pavoni 01_04

Yet the irresistible charm of this castle lies in its rooms which lure the visitor into one of the pages of the “Arabian Nights”. Through an incredible labyrinth of colour one walks from room to room with the persistent impression of visiting the Taj Mahal or the Alhambra in Granada. Among the most impressive halls are the Peacock Room, the Gallery between the Hall of Mirrors and the octagonal Fumoir, the White Hall and the small chapel.

Castello di Sammezzano, interno Sala dei Pavoni 01_06

If you’re thinking of bringing out your inner Sleeping Beauty the public sale will be on October 20th. Good luck!

Castello di Sammezzano, view 01_01

Pubblicato in Breaking news, Castles in Tuscany, Events around Florence, Events in Valdarno, Tuscan architecture, Tuscan gardens and parks, Tuscan lifestyle, Valdarno | Contrassegnato , , , , , , , , , | 2 commenti

The Fibonacci numbers have been discovered on a church in Pisa

The lunette with inlay
For over eight hundred years the façade of the church of San Nicola in Pisa has watched over a message that nobody has ever read before. Recently the front has been restored and the marble cleaned. During the process a professor of the University of Pisa, Pietro Armienti, an expert in petrology, closely observed the circular and rectangular inlays of one of the church’s lunettes and discovered a coded message. Studying its geometry the professor realized that the symbols were an explicit reference to the findings of the first great western mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, who was born in Pisa around 1170. Professor Armienti has just published his research report on “Journal of Cultural Heritage”.

The Church of San Nicola, Pisa

The Church of San Nicola has a first mention in 1097. In 1297-1313 the Augustinians enlarged it probably under design by Giovanni Pisano. During the following centuries the ravages of time left its mark on the inlays of the façade making them unreadable. After its recent restoration, the message carved in the lunette of the portal has emerged with all its details, proving to be a valuable artefact which celebrates the insights that marked the birth in Pisa of a school of thought that transformed the medieval vision of the world and turned Pisa into the cradle of modern scientific thought.

The façade of San Nicola

Apparently studying the diameters of the various circles one obtains the first nine elements of the Fibonacci sequence: 1,2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and 55. According to Professor Armienti the reference could not be more explicit and directly connects the inlay to the work of the great mathematician, or at least to a circle of his immediate colleagues or students. It appears that the inlay is an abacus which represents irrational numbers as well as made to calculate with good approximation the sides of the regular polygons inscribed in the circle with the largest diameter.
This is thus an important monument designed to instruct the elites according to the Scholastic programme. A precious gift which has been sent down to us from over eight hundred years ago and which can finally be valued.

19th century statue of Fibonacci in Camposanto, Pisa

Pubblicato in Breaking news, Churches and cathedrals in Tuscany, Discovery, Pisa, Tuscany | Contrassegnato , , , , , | Lascia un commento

The Fruits of the Earth, Portraits of Nature at Palazzo Pitti

01 Palazzo Pitti
Opening on September 21st at the Gallery of Modern Art in Palazzo Pitti, Florence, is “I frutti della Terra”, The Fruits of the Earth, Nature as Arturo Tosi’s (and other still-life painters’) model. The exhibition is part of “Firenze 2015 – Un Anno ad Arte”, a series of exhibitions and initiatives to enhance the Florentine museums and Medicean villas in association with Expo 2015’s theme: feeding the planet.

02 Arturo Tosi, Natura morta

Born in 1871 near Varese, Arturo Tosi moved to Milan in 1882 where he attended the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and later grew up amongst the Scapigliatura. His debut is in 1891 at the ‘Permanente’ in Milan. From 1909 to 1954 uninterruptedly he participates in the Venice Biennale. One of the most respected Italian painters from the 1930s on, Tosi dies in Milan in 1956.

03 Arturo Tosi, Natura morte con melone

On until November 8th. Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm. Closed on Mondays.

Pubblicato in Art in Florence, Exhibitions in Florence, Florence | Contrassegnato , , , , , , | Lascia un commento