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Exhibition on Tour 2006 - 2008
Natura Morta
Still-Life Painting and the Medici Collections
The Medici dynasty, which dominated the political and cultural life of Florence, Italy, from the fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries is still acclaimed today for its artistic patronage and enlightened collectors. Among the vast Medici collections bequeathed to the city of Florence in perpetuity is an extensive collection of still-life paintings, known as natura morta in Italian. Today these paintings are distributed among the Medici villas and Florentine museums.
This exhibition of 43 works of art from the Medici collections offers a rare and unique opportunity to see exemplary works of art. These paintings beautifully illustrate the artistic concern with "abundance of nature," a preoccupation which, in turn, has influenced the development of western art and culture. Curated by the respected Marco Chiarini and his colleague, Stefano Casciu of the Galleria Palatina of Florence, Italy, the exhibition project has been developed by Contemporanea Progetti, also of Florence, in association with the Trust for Museum Exhibitions of Washington, D.C.
Itinerary
Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA
November 10, 2006 - January 7, 2007
Venue 1
Museum of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL
January 19 - March 18, 2007
Venue 2
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
April 1 - May 27, 2007
Venue 3
Museum of Fine Arts - Santa Fe, NM
June 8 - August 5, 2007
Venue 4
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI
August 24 - October 21, 2007
Venue 5
The Hyde Collection - Glens Falls, NY
November 3, 2007 - January 13, 2008
Venue 6
Vase of Flowers (detail)
1670s - 1680s
oil on canvas