Florence – At number 3 of the ancient Via Larga, at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, an ancient bastion of the Medici, between whose rooms and studios modern collecting originated, Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo Il Magnifico would be delighted to see a large part of the Twentieth century through a rich selection of masters, from Paul Klee to Damien Hirst, on loan from art lovers of our time.
Until next January 8, in fact, the Florentine palace will host, in conjunction with the Florence Art Week, the exhibition entitled Twentieth century passion from Paul Klee to Damien Hirst. Works from private collections Florentine and Tuscan, a project for the Museo Novecento curated by Sergio Risaliti, promoted by the Metropolitan City of Florence and organized by MUS.E.
The goal is to make the great Renaissance tradition of collecting and patronage dialogue with the passion for the art of the twentieth century still strong today.

Twentieth century passion from Paul Klee to Damien Hirst. Works from private collections, Exhibition design | Courtesy Museo Novecento

In the city cradle of the Renaissance, which over the centuries has seen artistic events and those of private collecting intertwine, sowing a sensitive predisposition to the avant-garde and its most advanced experiments throughout the territory, a red thread links the ancient families of the Sassetti and Tornabuoni , the Medici and the Doni, the Gondi and the Rucellai to the private collectors of today.

In this anthology of eras and styles, visitors to Palazzo Medici Riccardi will be able to admire rare masterpieces by Paul Klee and de Chirico in dialogue with the Circus by Ottone Rosai, with the Abandoned objects in the forest by Alberto Savinio, and again with the works of Martini and Melotti, Burri and Fontana, with works by Warhol and Lichtenstein, Alighiero Boetti and Damien Hirst, with the Girolamo Savonarola by Ai Weiwei or the Couple by Cecily Brown.

Passion of the Twentieth Century from Paul Klee to Damien Hirst, works from private collections, Staging | Courtesy Museo Novecento

The succession of masterpieces will also see the stories of great art lovers alternate which will allow the modern public to learn more about the collector’s life, taste and ideals in a game of suggestions and meanings. On the other hand, it is thanks to collecting and patronage, which took root in the “rooms” and in the studios of Palazzo Medici, that the autonomy of works of art, curated, contemplated, appreciated for themselves, has been affirmed.

The first modern museums originated from the private collections, studios and salons of the great lords.
Developed during the Renaissance with the Medici family, central to the Italian cultural promotion, patronage was consecrated over the centuries to come with the presence of figures of the caliber of Stefano Bardini, one of the most eclectic and refined antiquarians and merchants of the his time, and the eclectic Frederick Stibbert. And thanks to collecting it is now possible to admire these masterpieces, in an extraordinary journey of rediscovery and deepening of the art of the twentieth century.

Passion of the Twentieth Century from Paul Klee to Damien Hirst, works from private collections, Staging | Courtesy Museo Novecento

“The Passione Novecento exhibition – explains Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento in Florence and curator of the exhibition – will open in conjunction with the Florence Art Week and the International Antiques Biennial which, after the break dictated by the epidemic, will bring the great protagonists back to Florence of the antiques market, together with collectors from all over the world and representative figures of the art system and museums. In the same week, the Renaissance + award will also be presented again in its third edition, an award assigned to six eminent personalities from the world of collecting and patronage ”.

The exhibition can be visited every day, except Wednesdays, from 9 to 19.

Ottone Rosai, Circus, 1933, Oil on cardboard