Museo degli Innocenti | fondlyfromflorence&beyond

Posts Tagged With: Museo degli Innocenti

Jenny Saville Dominates the Museum Scene in Florence

Posted on November 13, 2021 by fondlyfromflorence

Currently drawings and paintings from the British contemporary artist Jenny Saville are in exhibit at five museums in Florence. It’s the HAPPENING of the art scene here. Her art is juxtaposed next to the Renaissance masters, comparing and contrasting the theme of motherhood as well as nudes and female faces. She is the only “She” artist represented in the room; Renaissance art just got real! The comparisons ties the art of the Masters to one of our greatest living artists. Each work from both the Masters and Saville, side by side, has added to their depth and meaning. This is a journey not to be missed.

If you are in Florence this exhibit will continue through February 20, 2021. My suggestion is to start in the Museo Novecento to get an appreciation of Saville and her figurative and portrait art. Do not discard your ticket for it will be useful in the other four museums that are part of this expansive exhibition. This link will provide you with the hours, days and discounted prices of the Museums. http://www.museonovecento.it/en/jenny-saville-orari-e-biglietti-dei-musei-coinvolti-nella-mostra/

Here at the Novecento, inside the former church of the Spedale, is the portrait of Rosetta ll, a blind woman. The setting for this work is quite special as when looking through the door you, as well as Rosetta can gaze across the Piazza Santa Maria Novella into the Basilica SMN, to glimpse of Giotto’s wooden crucifix hanging in Nave when the church door of the Basilica is open.

At the Novecento there are 70 drawings and paintings of the artist, with 30 more, spread across the other four venues.

Once completing your visit to the Novecento, visit the other four museums in any order.

The Museo degli Innocenti, was next on my journey. Here with Botticelli, Luca Della Robbia, Saville shows us her motherhood. So fitting to see these in the former Orphanage of the Innocents.

At the Casa Buonarotti the theme of motherhood continues including the Jenny Saville’s study for Pieta V as well as Mother and Child drawings from Michelangelo and Saville

*Pieta V* Saville; *Madonna Col Bambino* Michelangelo; *Study for Pentimenti IV* (after Michelangelo for Virgin and Child), Saville

In the Salone dei Cinquecento located in Palazzo Vecchio, Saville’s “Fulcrum” is displayed amid sculptures of the Renaissance and the great murals of Vasari’s massive men in battle. In Fulcrum we see a mountain of naked women.

The last visit on my Saville journey was to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Beside Michelangelo’s marble Pieta, a larger than life drawing of Saville’s family in the same entwined pose.

My hope is that this expansive and important exhibit will be extended past February 20 so visitors to Florence in the Spring can view it. Also important to remember that these five museums should be on the top of anyone’s list of attractions when coming to Florence. There are impressive works of art in the permanent collections of all these museums. You will be moved.

Truly, one does not need to wait on a line for hours (the Uffizi and Academia) to see GREAT museums in Florence. My all time favorites here are, the Innocenti and the Duomo. You can view my past posts on the Museo degli Innocenti https://wordpress.com/post/fondlyfromflorence.com/1018 and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo https://wordpress.com/post/fondlyfromflorence.com/615

Happy travels!

Categories: Contemporary Art in Florence, Culture observations, Observations in Florence | Tags: casa buonarotti, jenny saville, Museo degli Innocenti, museo dell'opera del duomo, Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Museo Novecento | 2 Comments

Save the Children: Istituto degli Innocenti

Posted on November 1, 2016 by fondlyfromflorence

Whenever I return to Florence I am faced with the decision as to which new opening I will first attend. The Instituto degli Innocenti has been a favorite of mine and when I learned it had opened its newly renovated museum on June 23 of this year my decision was made for my Autumn trip!

The original site of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents/Foundling Hospital and Orphanage) continues to focus on the well being of children as the Istituto degli Innocenti.

Built, with the support of the Silk Guild of Florence, by Brunelleschi, it was completed in 1445. It soon became the model orphanage of Europe, not only welcoming abandoned children but providing outstanding health care as well as an education that included the arts.

The Museo degli Innocenti is part of the Institute and presents to visitors the history of the orphanage from its conception through 1900. This journey is a must for visitors to understand how forward thinking folks were back in the day.

Part of the complex that makes up Piazza SS. Annunziata, the Istituto flanks the beautiful Basillica Santissima Annunziata and is opposite a campus of the University of Florence. In the following photo, the University is to the left of the church and the Institute, not seen, would be on the right, under scaffolding at the moment as often is the case with many of the city’s structures. This symmetrical complex was designed by Brunelleschi, the same architect who built the Dome of the Duomo.

The entrance:

Due to the work on the outside of the Loggia, all ten of the beautiful blue and white ceramic Andrea della Robbias “putti” (chubby child) wrapped in swaddling clothes on the upper part of the facade, can not be seen. Here at the very beginning of the Loggia you can see one above the museum entrance. So interesting that today the swaddling of newborns is back in practice.

Here is a piece from the museum’s beautiful art collection.

I recommend first starting your visit by going to the lower level to study the timeline and history of the orphanage and reviewing the past before going up to the art collection and then onto see the conference rooms and architecture of the Institute which highlights the present and future.

Again due to the reconstruction under the Loggia you will not be able to see the “Ruota” (turning wheel) where for many centuries abandoned infants were passed to waiting caregivers. It remained in service until 1875.

The practice of refuge for new born infants as we use it today at a fire house in California (modern day version of the Ruota)

What I found most moving were the reconstruction of the stories of 70 orphans, including artifacts, such as the charms that mothers would pin to their children or put on a string around their arms, so they could identify their child when and if they would be able to come back for them. In this photo you can see the half of a medal that came with the child the mother holding onto the other half.

I found this quote from 1528 really gives you a sense of the integrity of the Ospedale.

Moving onto the Art Collection located on the Third floor, there are approximately 80 moving works of art.

Below Botticelli’s “Madonna and Child with an Angel” demonstrating the philosophy of an abandoned child handed over to the Madonna who will care and love for this child.

Another moving piece “Madonna of the Innocenti” by an unknown Florentine painter:

Visiting the Ground Floor you see the courtyards where the children played and bathed:

bath tub:

Currently there are three day care/nurseries on the property. Also UNICEF’s Global Office of Research.

Today some rooms off the courtyards are used for conferences featuring topics that are about the welfare of children, their families and society as a whole. The Future and how to make it better.