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Since
1924, the Gallery has been arranged on the
second floor of the Pitti Palace and extends
as far as the rooms an the facade used by
the Medici for the palace library and the
side wings used for children and retainers.
It was founded in 1914 and initially comprised
works of art brought in from the Academy
of Fine Arts.
The current museum collection comprise thirty rooms that trace a wide chronological arc: from the time of Pietro Leopoldo up to the First World War. The tour organised in chronological order and by historical-topical category, attempts to furnish the visitor with a clear view of the histories of the various core collections and enable a correct reading of the diverse atmospheres, marked as they are by the personal tastes of the royal families alternating in their reigns.
Today it has a very special juridical nature
due to a convention signed by the Italian
State and the Municipal Administration of
Florence. The thirty rooms of the Gallery
have recently been reorganised, according
to chronological criteria, Down a period
of time going from Neoclassicism (the age
of Peter Leopold) to the 1920' s. The rooms
on the second floor have been restored,
but the decoration, upholstering and furniture
of the Lorraine period have been maintained.
The itineray begins with both Neoclassic
works like the "Oath of the Saxons to Napoleon"
by Pietro Benvenuti and romantic works like
the grandiose "Entry of Charles VIII" by
Giuseppe Bezzuoli or "The two Foscari" by
Francesco Hayez.
There are also many fine sculptures of the
same period like "Calliope" of Antonio Canova,
"Psyche" by Pietro Tenerani and the famous
"Abel" by Giovanni Dupré. The collection
includes a vast assortment of paintings
based on historical subjects that document
one of most significant aspects of the first
half of the 19th century culture. These
comprise works by Sabatelli, Pollastrini
or by Stefano Ussi with his famous "Expulsion
of the Duke of Athens". Yet the paintings
that most characterise the Gallery are those
of the Macchiaioli, the famous Tuscan artists
of the mid-19th century that set out the
premise for a wide-scale innovation at a
national level. This section comprises important
works by Giovanni Fattori, like the "Rotonda
Palmieri", the "Battle of Magenta", the
“Staffato”, and a rich series
of landscapes and scenes of life in the
Maremma (the "Market in Maremma", the "Ox
cart", the "Salto delle pecore").
Many of the works of these artists displayed
in the Gallery belong to the collection
of Diego Martelli, a critic and friend of
the Macchiaioli who left their paintings
to the museum at the end of the last century.
There are also many paintings by Silvestro
Lega and Telemaco Signorini with views and
interior scenes, while Giovanni Boldini
is represented with a series of his rapid
and elegant portraits. The sculptures of
this section include the works by Adriano
Cecioni, who lucidly translated and experimented
the tonal ideas prevalent to whom the touch
was so important. In addition to the above-mentioned
collections belonging to the early and late
19th century, the Museum also displays a
lavish collection of 19th century works
that will be arranged in the so-called "Mezzanino
degli Occhi" (Mezzanine of the Eyes, the
“eyes” being windows in the
shape of a circle. |
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Silvestro
Lega
The starling's song
- 1867
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Silvestro
Lega
A walk in the garden - 1870 |
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