Between the 1840s and the 1920s, historical Italian art, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, had a strong impact on British visual culture, particularly on Pre-Raphaelite. This artistic movement, born in mid-nineteenth century Victorian England by some rebellious artists – William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais e Dante Gabriel Rossetti – had the aim of renewing English painting, considered in decline due to the excessively formal and severe rules imposed by the Royal Academy.
The exhibition will be held from 24 February to 30 June 2024 Pre-Raphaelites. Modern Renaissance – directed by Gianfranco Brunelli and edited by Elizabeth Prettejohn, Peter Trippi, Francesco Parisi e Cristina Acidini with the advice of Tim Barringer, Stephen Calloway, Charlotte Gere, Véronique Gerard Powell e Paola Restore – al San Domenico Civic Museum of Forlì through approximately 300 works including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, furniture, ceramics, glass and metal works, fabrics, medals, illustrated books, manuscripts and jewels, it will tell this story alongside for the first time, thanks to the generous loans granted by the European – particularly English and Italian – and American museums, a consistent representation of Italian models, including works by old masters, to British works; but also works by Italian artists of the late nineteenth century inspired by British precursors.
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Dante Gabriel Rossetti – The Woman in the Window (1870)
Pre-Raphaelitism – whose beginning date can be set with certainty at 1848, but whose conclusion is not easy to identify because it fades into the decadent and symbolist movements – was not a reactionary return to the styles of the past but a visionary project capable of both making the works that emerged from it were something decidedly modern, both to restore strength and presence to the Italian tradition.
In fact, the Pre-Raphaelites drew on a wide range of influences and historical elements, at different times drawing inspiration from Venetian Gothic art and architecture, Cimabuea Giottoas well as Renaissance masters, such as Botticelli e Michelangelofinally turning with equal enthusiasm to the 16th century Venetian art of Veronese e Titian. Following the course of a production that spanned several decades, Preraffelliti.
Modern Renaissance is divided into sections that have as their common thread the concept of reinvention in its various declinations. They are documented by works by British artists who are perhaps little known to the general public, but who are able to convey the peculiar features of this historical passage with unprecedented clarity.
