Increasing the Gallery of Modern Art’s collection and displaying the new acquisitions

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.

Ruggero Focardi (Firenze 1864 - Quercianella 1934), Paesaggio. Piazza di  Settignano, XX secolo (1904 ca.), olio su tela. Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi,  Galleria d’Arte Moderna, DepositiGiulio Bargellini (Firenze 1875 – Roma 1936), Eterno idioma, XX  secolo (1932), olio su tela. Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi, Galleria d’Arte  Moderna, UfficiLuigi Busi (Bologna 1837 - 1884), Monaca in contemplazione, seconda  metà XIX secolo (1865 ca.), olio su tela. Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi,  Galleria d’Arte Moderna, DepositiLuigi Busi (Bologna 1837 - 1884), Monaca in contemplazione, seconda  metà XIX secolo (1865 ca.), olio su tela. Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi,  Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Depositi
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The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. 2003-2008 Acquisitions and a Recent Gift

Gallery of Modern Art, Pitti Palace, Florence

15 May – 10 June 2012

Exhibition curated by Simonella Condemi