The Exhibition

Florence - Five hundred years later, Florence celebrates the genius of Sandro Botticelli, dedicating to the painter of Allegory of Spring and the Birth of Venus a precious and highly spectacular exhibition, the finest in the world because of the number (30) and quality of the paintings on display. The exceptional nature of the event is heightened by the presence of 21 works by Filippino Lippi. For the first time, therefore, it is possible to compare the master with the pupil, thus proving what critics have long since maintained: that Filippino is at least as great as Botticelli.

The exhibition venue, Palazzo Strozzi, further enriches the event with history and fascination: Botticelli and Filippino. Grace and passion in fifteenth century Florentine painting (11 March - 11 July 2004) is held in a building which Botticelli and Filippino visited regularly during their lifetimes. Filippo Strozzi, who entrusted the project to the architect Giuliano da Maiano, was in fact one of Filippino's great patrons. .

The two artists were intimately related in their professional and private lives. Botticelli was Fra' Filippo Lippi's prized pupil, Filippino, son of the friar and sister Lucrezia Buti, was Botticelli's most important pupil. Together they created a new style of outstanding lyricism, which was linear, poetic and delicate. And both executed passionate works which reflected the torment of Savonarola.

The exhibition proposes over 60 works from all over the world, some of which from the Botticelli exhibition organized by the Sénat de la Republique française at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris.

The Palazzo Strozzi exhibition, however, displays more works and is more complete with contributions from major public and private American and European collections. Compared with those on display in Paris, there are 13 additional works by Botticelli (9 paintings and 4 drawings), some of which have never been shown, others have never been shown in Italy or have not been seen for many years. The section devoted to Filippino is completely new, with many paintings that have never been exhibited in Italy and there is even a hitherto unexhibited work, discovered in the Usa.

In view of its exceptional nature, the exhibition will take place under the high patronage of the President of the Italian Republic. It is promoted by the Special Commission for the Florentine Polo Museale, the Department of Culture of Florence City Council, the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and Firenze Mostre Spa, which also organize and produce the exhibition with the precious collaboration of Gruppo Banca CR Firenze, Ina Assitalia, Trenitalia, Ataf e APT Firenze.

The curators are: for the section on Filippino, Jonathan Nelson (co-author, together with Patrizia Zambrano, of the latest scientific monograph on the painter) and for Botticelli, Pierluigi De Vecchi and Daniel Arasse, late lamented. This exhibition is dedicated to him. The catalogue is published by Skira.

Botticelli (Florence 1445 - 1510) is perhaps the world's most well-loved painter. Filippino (Prato, circa 1457 - Florence 1504), on the other hand, was famous during his lifetime and later forgotten. Besides marking the fifth centenary of his death, the exhibition is also re-launching a great artist who has been underestimated for far too long. The exhibition has been arranged in thematic sequence. The following is a synthesis with an indication of the main paintings exhibited.

Madonnas. Four great novelties: 1) a new interpretation of the two artists and their revolutionary style. For example, the seldom seen Annunciations, revealing the particularly expressive use of perspective; as in the fresco by Botticelli in the Uffizi Gallery, or in the two tondos by Filippino in the Pinacoteca Civica at San Gimignano; 2) The evolutive process which can be observed, for example, in Botticelli's first delightful Madonnas, after his apprenticeship to Filippo Lippi; 3) Some of Filippino's most famous paintings: Madonna with Child and Angels (from the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze collection), one of his most widely reproduced but little seen works; and his finest altarpiece, the Vision of St. Bernard (Badia, Florence), on display for the first time next to a superb preparatory drawing of the figure of the saint; 4) Virtually unknown masterpieces, which include, from Edinburgh, an outstanding Madonna adoring her Child, by Botticelli (circa 1480), discovered in 1998 and on show for the first time now in Italy.

Narrator. The exhibition also proposes Botticelli as a narrator: he illustrated Boccaccio (III Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, Prado Museum, exhibited for the first time in Italy, and IV Story of Nastagio degli Onesti never exhibited at all), the Bible (Stories of Judith), Dante (The Divine Comedy). Some early paintings by Filippino, 1470-1480, reveal his close relationship with his master. His Story of Regina Vasti (Horne Museum, Florence) was probably executed on a drawing by Botticelli. The exceptional drama in Story of Lucretia (Palatine Gallery, Florence) probably reflects a drawing re-used by Botticelli for a painting of the same subject. Filippino's closeness to Botticelli is also represented in the Three Archangels and Tobiolo (Sabauda Gallery, Turin).

Allegories. Botticelli is famous for his allegories and the exhibition includes some of his most important works: (Calumny and Pallas and the Centaur) side by side with little-known masterpieces by Filippino, like his Allegory of Love (London, private collection) exhibited for the first time since 1949. Similar in spirit to Botticelli's Allegory of Spring, the painting illustrates the magic power of a unicorn purifying the love of a couple, represented by a stag and doe.

Portraits. Botticelli is one of the first great Italian master portraitists. His famous Portrait of man with medal of Cosimo the Elder (Uffizi Gallery) stands out for the man's languid gaze, thoughtful expression and lyrical pose. Profile of a young woman (New York, private collection) is also exhibited for the first time in Italy. Filippino's portraits show the same attention to the psychology of the personage and the colour of his complexion and, in some figures, to the solidity of form. His Portrait of a Musician (National Gallery, Dublin) has not been shown in Italy for decades.

Savonarola. Botticelli and Filippino were both strongly attracted by the preaching of the Dominican friar, Gerolamo Savonarola (Ferrara 1452 - Florence 1498) and both worked for some of his important followers. This intense experience is clearly reflected in Botticelli's only signed and dated painting, Mystic Nativity (National Gallery, London), a vision of peace and harmony after an apocalyptic period. To illustrate Savonarola's Treatise on Humility, Filippino drew a xylograph of the Pietà (National Library, Florence). He also executed an unusual triptych to celebrate female devotion (Seminario Patriarcale, Venice) and for Francesco Valori, Savonarola's most powerful follower, he painted St. Mary Magdalen and St. John the Baptist (Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence), two barefoot, ascetic, emaciated figures, with their clothes in rags, the emblem of spiritual turmoil and desire for penitence.

Pathos. Perhaps Botticelli's most important and least known characteristic. he superb Pietà from the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, no longer delicate and lyrical, but transformed by anguish. Filippino's tormented St. Jerome (Uffizi Gallery) and his impassioned Pietà (National Gallery of Art, Washington) reveal an identical emotional tension. A Repentant Mary Magdalen inspired by Donatello (private collection, New York) shows the inner torment of the saint kneeling in front of a rocky cave.

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