A work by Fortunato Depero
“Fortuna” by Beatrice Brandini
From 28 September 2023 to 28 January 2024 scheduled at Palazzo Medici Riccardi we could admire the great creativity of Fortunato Depero with “Depero. Fantastic ride.” Exhibition promoted by the Metropolitan City of Florence, based on a project by the Museo Novecento, curated by Sergio Risaliti and Eva Francioli, and organized by MUS.E.
Depero. Fantastic ride
Fantastic ride, 1920. Private collection
The king of money, 1936. Mart, Museum of modern and contemporary art of Trento and Rovereto.
For the first time a Florentine museum institution presents the work of this undisputed, multifaceted, innovative master of the twentieth century. Depero in fact experimented with many new (for the time in which they appeared) expressive forms, using graphics, painting, collage, paintings inlaid on fabric.., anticipating many of the twentieth-century innovations.
A work of Fortunato Depero
Fortunato Depero
The exhibition project is part of the calendar of initiatives of the Florence Art Week 2023, and arises from the presence, in the collections of the Museo Novecento in Florence, of Nitrite in velocity, from 1932, the artist’s masterpiece, donated by the naval engineer Alberto Della Ragione to the Municipality of Florence in the aftermath of the terrible flood of 1966, together with 240 other works from his collection, now the cornerstone of the permanent collection of the Museo Novecento.
Work by Fortunato Depero
Work by Fortunato Depero
Inside the palace where the Medici hosted the innovators of their time in the 15th century, 47 works are brought together, including some masterpieces from the Mart, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, which the artist donated to the Municipality of Rovereto before dying.
Work by Fortunato Depero
Work by Fortunato Depero
The exhibition itinerary is structured as follows: the first part is dedicated to studies for scenography, sketches and fashion sketches, giving the observer the opportunity to understand how visual arts and performing arts have mutually influenced and nourished each other. In fact, the collaborations between Depero and the theater were important.
Speed, Fortunato Depero
Work by Fortunato Depero
Work by Fortunato Depero
The second part focuses on the manufacturing of tapestries, where Florence was queen for its diffusion, and here you can admire numerous cloth inlays, among which the imposing Cavalcata Fantastica stands out. Each artifact leaves you completely amazed by such beauty and creativity.
Work by Fortunato Depero
Work by Fortunato Depero
The last section focuses on the theme of movement and the myth of progress, at the origin of many of Depero’s works.
Glimpse of the exhibition
Puppets for plastic dances, 1918. Private collection
Land of tarantellas, 1918. Private collection
I had already dedicated a post to this incredible artist (this is the link:
https://www.beatricebrandini.it/depero-new-depero-at-the-mart-in-rovereto-the-exhibition-on-the-greatest-futurist-artist/?lang=en) since I have always considered him one of the greatest of the Twentieth century. His art was innovative, experimental, intellectual but also joyful, playful, funny, ironic, always beautiful. He experimented in many areas, always with very high results, from fashion to theatre, from design to advertising, even in cooking recipes… sometimes creating by assembling different materials, for a final visual, sound and tactile effect.
Sergio Risaliti curator of the exhibition, in front of the work Fantastic Cavalcade
Glimpses of the exhibition “Depero. Fantastic ride.”
Fortunato Depero
Depero was also much discussed and, in some moments, forgotten, above all for political reasons which certainly did not benefit his art and his spirit, reducing the conversation to sterile reasoning. It is a shame when politics judges art, in any era and for any form of expression. Art, all of it, should be admired, understood, studied and never judged or criticized for a political color or a “jacket” worn.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice