Art

by Silvia Messeri

Two important exhibitions to mark the 5th anniversary of the death of Girolamo Savonarola

Five centuries have passed since the historic stake was set up in Piazza della Signoria. Tuscany is dedicating a series of historical and artistic events for the fifth centenary of the death of that empassioned preacher, Fra' Girolamo Savonarola, who was burnt alive as a heretic in 1498. These include two important exhibitions, one in Florence and the other at Pistoia, dedicated to the painters who lived in the same period as Savonarola. The Fra' Bartolomeo and the "school of St. Mark" exhibition in Florence is divided into two sections; one at the Museum at the Convent of St. Mark and the other in the White Room at the Pitti Palace. The former contains about thirty works that were carried out for the convent by Baccio della Porta who, when he became a monk in 1500, took the name of Fra' Bartolomeo. These works of art have all been restored by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure and have now, especially the larger paintings, regained all their original light and delicate colour. A further twenty paintings, carried out by Mariotto Albertinelli, Giovanni Antonio Sogliani and Lorenzo di Credi who, with others, were part of the "school of St. Mark", can be seen exhibited alongside the production of Fra' Bartolomeo.

One of the poster of the Savonarola exhibition

The White Room of the Pitti Palace instead contains works by Fra' Bartolomeo that were purchased over the centuries by the Medici and Lorraine Grand Dukes for their collections. About thirty more paintings, lent by museums and private collections from all over the world, and all together for the first time, complete this unique and extremely interesting exhibition showing some of the finest works by Fra' Bartolomeo and his followers. The exhibition on Fra' Paolino and painting in Pistoia in the early 16th century has been set up in the Palazzo Comunale at Pistoia and includes about thirty paintings, some by more famous artists like Fra' Paolino and Gerino Gerini, while others, like Scalabrino, Bernardino Detti and Leonardo Malatesta, are less known to the general public. Fra' Bartolomeo and the "school of St. Mark" Florence, White Room of the Pitti Palace - Museum of St. Mark from April 24th to July 28th 1996 Fra' Paolino and the painting in Pistoia in the early 16th century Pistoia, Palazzo Comunale and Civic Museum from April 24th to July 31st 1996 See also: Girolamo Savonarola-Programme until 1998
FAN

FAN-Florence ART News
a cura di
Silvia Messeri & Sandro Pintus