MEDICI TAPESTRIES AT PALAZZO PITTI
The exhibition in Palazzo Pitti in Florence offers to Italian and foreign visitors a rare chance to admire the glittering rise of the Medici Renaissance tapestry industry until September 28th: fragile and ancient wall hangings, that are normally kept safely locked up in climate-controlled storehouses, are now charted in this wonderful palace.
Among these masterpieces is to underline the importance of a wonderful one, the “Deposition of Christ”, woven by Giovanni Rost using a design by Francesco Salviati, which is now going on public display for the first time, after a detailed and complex intervention.
The show in fact presents a selection of wonderful restored glories, with one or two hangings from different series, designed to adorn the walls of Medici residences, while a large number of the thousand-odd tapestries produced in the Medici workshop in the 16th and 17th centuries, have been left hanging in public buildings for decades, resulting in faded colours and threadbare patches.
As Cristina Acidini, Florence's art chief, said : ''This show is exacting and unique, following the fascinating thread of a purely Florentine story, that unwound in the city's tapestry workshop and it’s inspired by the dazzling works of art, reaching Italy from Flanders in the Netherlands and Arras in France. It was in 1545 when Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, ordered the founding of a tapestry factory in Florence. This exhibition looks at the movement from the work of early Flemish masters, such as Giovanni Rost and Nicola Karcher, to Florentine-born tapestry makers in 1555-56'' continued Acidini. ''They inherited the skills of these tapestry-makers and, in turn, passed on, what they had learned to their successors''.
The centre of European tapestry production, renowned for its beautiful designs and attention to detail, was considered the Flanders in the Netherlands at the time and Cosimo I de Medici set numerous Italian artists to work as tapestry designers or cartoonists, like, for example: Agnolo Bronzino, Girolamo Macchietti, Francesco Salviati and Federigo Sustris. He also quickly realized the benefits of using experienced cartoonists, accustomed to meeting the demanding quirks of tapestry design. Then, in the 1550s, he lured leading Flemish tapestry makers and artists to Florence, including Jan Van der Straet, better known in Italy as Giovanni Stradano: his contribution provided the workshop with the boost it needed, pushing it into the frontline of European tapestry production.
Most of the pieces use a narrative sequence to glorify the achievements and virtues of the ruling family or just allegory, but they are all really sweeping works. Unfortunately, however, as many of Italy's wall hangings have fallen into disrepair, the curators had at their disposal only a limited selection of tapestries to choose from.
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence had launched a project two years ago: start the restoring of this neglected aspect of Italian heritage, but the prohibitive cost means that only a small number have so far been returned to their original glory. For this reason this exhibit is also showcasing a number of the wall hangings, that are still waiting for restoration: the great hope is to attract more sponsors to help continue this important work.
(Loredana Grandi)
Medici tapestries
Palazzo Pitti – Florence
Until September 28th