The exhibition aims to focus on one of the lesser-known aspects of the Tuscan artist's complex personality, his great talent as portrait painter. Fattori’s work is usually dominated by military subjects, battle scenes, soldiers in encampments or infantry units at rest, but this exhibition wants to analyse a different theme; portraits.
An extraordinary selection of portraits which mark Fattori’s artistic career are on display. Some portraits have never been seen, while others are well known to the general public. The exhibition is divided into seven sections where more than 70 works are arranged. The exhibition aims to give the exact measure of Fattori's high technical and creative value as a central figure in the renewal of portraiture in modern Italian art.
The exhibition pays tribute to Giovanni Fattori (1825 – 1908) on the centenary of his death.
The other side of the soul. Portraits by Giovanni Fattori
Gallery of Modern Art, Pitti Palace, Florence
28 October 2008 – 25 January 2009
Exhibition curated by Giuliano Matteucci and Carlo Sisi
Exhibition catalogue published by Sillabe (available only in Italian)
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Toscana, Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze; Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti, Firenze Musei, Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Istituto Matteucci – Viareggio
