Fortunato Depero, Flora Magica. Scenography of Le Chant du Rossignol, 1917, reconstruction 1981. Mart, Trento and Rovereto
Flora in the Wind by Beatrice Brandini
Flora. The enchantment of flowers in Italian art from the twentieth century to today is a wonderful exhibition scheduled until June 29 at the Villa dei Capolavori, home of the Fondazione Magnai Rocca in Mamiano di Traversetolo (twenty minutes from Parma). Immersed in the splendid Romantic Park, the perfect setting for a timeless floral subject.
Galileo Chini, La Vita, 1919. Private collection
Flowers have always been one of the favorite subjects of artists, full of symbols, of the transience of life, of beauty as an ephemeral value, they have inspired artists such as Boldini, Segantini; Chini, Balla, Severini, Schifano, Fontana… And in fact 150 floral masterpieces are the protagonists of this exhibition.
Giovanni Boldini, The Baroness of Gunzburg
The exhibition explores the relationship between Italian painting of the last century and the floral world, highlighting how the flower is interpreted by each artist in a completely different way. For Boldini it is a symbol of grace and beauty, for Chini a secret place, for Morandi a silent meditation, for the futurists a graphic and symbolic sign.
Giorgio Morandi, Flowers, 1952, Francesca and Augusto Giovanardi Collection
Together with the greatest Italian artists, the exhibition hosts masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Titian, Canova, which belonged to Luigi Magnani.
Mario Schifano Botanical Garden, 1981, Tonelli collection
An entire section is dedicated to the Rose, the romantic flower par excellence. Morandi’s Roses converse with those of Funi, Pirandello, Mafai.
Luigi Bonazza, Portrait of Gigina, 1930. Private collection
A journey between Symbolism and contemporaneity, with important and prestigious loans, such as those from the Museo Novecento in Milan, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome, the Museo Morandi in Bologna, the Museo Novecento in Florence, the Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux in Florence. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Fondazione Magnai-Rocca and the Mart, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, and is curated by Daniela Ferrari and Stefano Roffi.
Antonio Donghi, Fiori, 1935
“There is no painter of the twentieth century who has not painted flowers, following an intimate vocation and a very personal interpretation, a representative challenge. The flower is a simple subject, but it is also a universe of complex symbols, of sophisticated forms and therefore irresistible”. – Daniela Ferrari
Umberto Moggioli, Flowers in the Rain, 1918, Courtesy Galleria Gomiero
An opportunity to visit the recently restored Romantic Park that surrounds the Villa dei Capolavori. A unique landscape jewel in Italy that extends for twelve hectares and includes an English garden, an Italian garden and the new contemporary garden. A green heritage with hundreds of new trees, shrubs and flowers, with exotic and monumental plants surrounding the villa that was home to Luigi Magnani.
Giacomo Balla, Balfiori, 1915 about. Courtesy Matteo Maria Mapelli Arte Contemporanea, Monza
“Nothing, I believe, is more difficult for a true painter than to paint a rose, because, before he can do so, he must first forget all the roses that have been painted.” Henri Matisse
Felice Casorati, Flowers and Hatbox, 1928
In short, an exhibition and a setting not to be missed, in what is par excellence the most beautiful season.
Good life to all
Beatrice