FLORENCE, ITALY – On 23 September, the thirtieth edition of the Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze will once again be opening its doors in the baroque halls of Palazzo Corsini, facing probably the most beautiful Lugarno in the city.
In order to host over 3,000 works on display and more than 80 Italian and foreign galleries, Palazzo Corsini will have a new layout this year, entrusted to the creative streak of Matteo Corvino, well-known Venetian interior designer and set designer.
A work in progress project opening up to modernity, which will also be reinterpreted by the next edition. The aim is to provide visitors with even greater visibility of the 17 th century architecture of Palazzo Corsini using the installation of a glass ceiling along the central exhibition route, allowing a greater amount of light into the building, while from the terrace of Palazzo Corsini it will be possible to admire the reconstruction of an Italian-style hanging garden with boxwood borders.
The novel layout will host works painstakingly selected and screened by an authoritative international scientific committee of experts (Andrea Bacchi, Massimo Bartolozzi, Sandro Bellesi, Daniele Benati, Mauro Berti, Silvestra Bietolet, Andrew Butterfield, Simone Chiarugi, Enrico Colle, Frederik J. Duparc, David Ekserdjian, Maria Cecilia Fabbri, Carlo Falciani, Arturo Galansino, Aldo Galli, Giancarlo Gentilini, Richard Knight, Francesco Leone, Dora Liscia Bemporad, Jean-Patrice Marandel, Paola Marini, Fernando Mazzocca, Luca Mor, Claudio Pizzorusso, Nicoletta Pons, Giovanni Pratesi, Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti, Scott J. Schaefer, Eric Schleier, Davide Sestieri, Nicola Spinosa, Carl Strehlke, Maria Cristina Terzaghi, Roberto Valeriani, and Marco Voena).
By extending its timeline to the 1980s, the 2017 edition continues to open up to modern art – already initiated in the last edition with the installation Pluto and Proserpine, a three-metre high sculpture in gilded steel by American artist Jeff Koons, exhibited on the Arengario of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria – and, this time, collaborating with Swiss artist Urs Fischer on, an artistic project of Fabrizio Moretti and Sergio Risaliti, curated by Francesco Bonami and supported by the collaboration of Mus.e and the City of Florence.
The Biennale will, once again, be in close synergy with the main Florentine institutions, in this way offering visitors a rich programme of events in many of the symbolic spots of the city centre, becoming an occasion to discover the beauties of Florence in a new light. Among these initiatives, will be the exhibition “An encounter between late gothic and contemporary art: Pietro di Chellino and Pietro Annigoni” with works belonging to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. In addition, as part of the celebration of 25 years of activity, the Foundation will be exhibiting several treasures from its valuable art collection at Palazzo Corsini during the BIAF.
Moreover, a special joint event, in collaboration with Palazzo Strozzi, will make it possible to admire some of the most significat works of Italian art. Visitors to the Biennale will also receive a discount on the admission ticket to the show “The sixteenth century in Florence. From Michelangelo, to Pontormo and Giambologna”. The same will apply to visitors to the show at Palazzo Strozzi who are welcome to admire the works of the 30 th Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato at a reduced price.
A charity event is scheduled for the evening of Friday 29 September with a dinner in the Throne Room of Palazzo Corsini in favour of Engera – Africa Caring People ONLUS, an organisation that works to protect the health of the Ethiopian population. On this occasion a prestigious personality from the world of show
business will be the special auctioneer of an auction of valuable items offered by the exhibitors of the Biennale.
On 1 October, the Biennale will display its feminine touch as it hosts the Onlus Firenze in Rosa, an association involved in disseminating and encouraging a breast cancer prevention “culture” through the promotion of well-being and a healty lifestyle, as well as post-op psycho-physical rehabilitation. The first “leaks” about the works on display at Palazzo Corsini from 23 September through 1 October
already give an idea of an edition abounding in suggestions for all types of collectors. Among the main attractions, the Verona-marble ‘’Letterbox for anonymous complaints’, a 17th-century piece presented by Galleria W. Apolloni of Rome. Galleria Michel Descours will be proposing ‘The portrait of theatre actor Tiberio Fiorilli in the Role of Scaramouche’ by Pietro Paolini, which belonged to the actor’s brother. The Galleria Alberto di Castro will be exhibiting an important group of never-before- seen preparatory drawings from Luigi Valadier’s workshop for a frieze around the bronze bell of Saint Peter’s Basilica, while W&K Wienerroither & Kohlbacher will be presenting another collection of drawings, this time by Gustav Klimt, including a study for his celebrated painting Salomé. Also among the drawings, Enrico Frascione will be showing a study of a male nude by Tintoretto. Carlo Orsi will be exhibiting a commissioned work in semiprecious stones on slate created by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure of Florence at the beginning of the 17th century and depicting the Return from the Flight into Egypt, with ivory, maple, rosewood and amber inlays; Dario Ghio will be exhibiting The cameo with a bust of Louis XIV that reveals a truly little-known side of the woman who not only possessed but also finely engraved it: Marquise de
Pompadour.
In the paintings sector, with exceptional works in terms of quality and provenance, will be Colnaghi with a series of anthropomorphic still-lifes portraying the seasons by Giovanni Paolo Castelli, also known as Lo Spadino; the Galleria Lullo Pampoulides at its first participation in the Biennale, will instead be proposing the Battle between Greeks and Romans by Livio Mehus, while the Galleria Cantore will be displaying Rest during the flight into Egypt by Orazio Samacchini, documented in the Giustiniani Collection and later in the Hohenzollern imperial collection. Of note at Giovanni Sarti’s stand, a portrayal of a battle from an episode in the life of Julius Caesar painted by Maestro di Marradi at the end of the 1400s. Galleria Lumina will be exhibiting the Portrait of Orazio Piccolomini, by Justus Suttermans that was once owned by Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere. Galleria Berardi will be showcasing Equestrian portrait of Anatoly Demidov by Karl Bryullov, a major 19th-century Russian artist who worked for important patrons in his homeland and also in Italy. Worth noting among the 19 th -century paintings are the Game of bowls by Florentine artist Raffaello Sorbi, presented by Matteo Salamon. Among the 20 th -century works, the Galleria Francesca Antonacci Damiano Lapiccirella will be showing a canvas by Cagnaccio di San Pietro, one of the leading Italian hyperrealists, with The Letter from 1925, which depicts two women intent on reading their letters, immersed in a still and rarefied light. The large oil on canvas, Florentine Spring, by Plinio Nomellini, from a private German collection and not displayed to the public since 1922, will instead by proposed by Paolo Antonacci Antichità.
Equally well represented at the Biennale will be the sculptures. Meheringer Benappi will be bringing to Florence a 16th-century work by Giovanni Angelo Del Maino portraying St. John the Evangelist, while Giovanni Pratesi will be presenting a marble sculpture of The Triumph of Virtue over Vice by Battista Lorenzi. A terracotta Christ the Redeemer (1510-1520) by Benedetto Buglioni will be coming to Palazzo Corsini from Galleria Botticelli. Riccardo Bacarelli will be exhibiting a terracotta Portrait of a Man by Gaetano Merchi, from 1783, while Tomasso Brothers will be exhibiting a bronze work by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi entitled Ganymede and the Eagle. Altomani & Sons will be gracing Palazzo Corsini with a white porcelain bust of Marchese Carlo Andrea Ignazio Ginori, modelled by Gaspare Bruschi for the Manifattura Ginori of Doccia in the mid-1700s. It will also be possible to admire a bas-relief from Longari Arte Milano portraying the Madonna and Child Blessing of the “Madonna Morgan” type carried out by
Mino da Fiesole and his workshop. The Galleria Carlo Virgilio will be presenting a Carrara-marble Sleep of Endymion attributed to Virgilio Aristodemo Costoli and the Galleria Orsini will be showing a pair of two-faced anthropomorphic sculptures of Antinous-Osiris, of esoteric-Masonic inspiration.
Looking to the furniture, Piva & C. we will be exhibiting a pair of small Venetian divans lacquered with floral motifs from the latter half of the 18 th century, while the stand of Alessandra di Castro will contain a pair of bedside tables with raised backs and kneelers made in Rome in the mid-1700s. In the light of these first previews it is easy to understand the air of anticipation that can already be sensed among the collectors and operators in this sector.
Biaf 2017
Dates and opening hours: from 23 September to 1 October 2017, from 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, 28 September 2017 from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Admission: € 15, reduced price € 10
website: www.biaf.it
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