The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. 2003-2008 Acquisitions and a Recent Gift

This type of exhibition, which occurs every five years, aims to attest the entrance of new works of art added to the Gallery of Modern Art’s collection between 2003 and 2008, while it contemporaneously dedicates special attention to a particular gift received this year.

The work in question is a large charcoal drawing that is attributed to the hand of Enrico Pestellini and that depicts a dinner between the Macchiaioli artists, among which one can identify the caricatures of Nino Costa, Signorini, Fattori, Lega, and other exponents of the Tuscan movement. They are in the restaurant of “Sora Zaira,” a meeting place favoured for its food and its conversation.

The exhibition presents a selection of thirty-five works, among which are paintings, drawings, sculptures, and artistic objects from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with examples which highlight the artistic production of Giovanni Boldini, Ruggero Focardi, Giannino Marchig, Giulio Bargellini, and Libero Andreotti.

These works are a vital testimony to the choices made by the Commission for the acquisitions, which is the juridical organ of deliberation for the acceptance of each gift or acquisition destined to increase the patrimony of the Museum. The Commission, still active today, was established for the Gallery of Modern Art in Palazzo Pitti by the Convention of June 1914.

In addition, the same act established that new works of art would be acquired with the funds derived from the profits of the sale of admission tickets. This provision is still active and allows for a strong connection between the visitors and the collection.