Florence Palazzo Strozzi 24 September 2015 24 January 2016

Curated by Lucia Mannini, Anna Mazzanti, Ludovica Sebregondi, Carlo Sisi Panels written by Lucia Mannini, Anna Mazzanti, Ludovica Sebregondi Captions written by Ludovica Sebregondi

The exhibition analyses and sets in context a full century of modern religious art stretching from the 1850s – when the Roman Catholic Church actively encouraged the most innovative forms of artistic expression – to the mid-20th century. Showcasing the best examples of that art to have been produced in Italy and abroad, in alternating thematic and narrative sections, it highlights the dialogue and the ties between art forms which were frequently very distant from one another, with sweeping new takes on modernity, differing trends and occasionally even clashes of expression in the relationship between art and religious sentiment.

From Salon to Altar The visitor is greeted by large paintings of the highest quality testifying to the eclecticism prevailing in styles and approaches to the theme of the sacred in the second half of the 19th century. The altarpiece continued to be a major medium for formal experimentation between 1848 and 1870, one of the most interesting workshops in this connection being Tuscany whose churches hosted work by the most up-to-date artists. Reflecting the pope’s inclination, sacred art favoured the historical approach. Pius IX (1846–78) actively campaigned for religious painting to embrace the naturalistic, narrative style of historical painting then in vogue, inaugurating the Gallery of (contemporary) Saints and the Beatified in the Vatican Museums in 1869. The gallery was further extended by his successor Leo XIII (1878–1903). One of the most outstanding examples of this trend is the preparatory sketch for Cesare Fracassini’s large canvas depicting the Martyrs of Gorcum, while Bouguerau’s Flagellation caused a stir when the artist allowed aesthetic considerations to prevail over the dramatic austerity traditionally associated with the subject. 4

Antonio Ciseri (Ronco sopra Ascona 182– Florence 1891) The Maccabees 1857–63 Oil on canvas; 463.5 x 265.5 cm Florence, Church of Santa Felicita The first study in oil for this picture, in 1855, was followed by numerous preliminary drawings before the final cartoon was ready in March 1857. In July of that year, Ciseri (who was by no means new to religious works) began to paint what he called “not a historical painting but a picture for veneration, for the altar.”

Cesare Fracassini (Rome 1838–1868) The Martyrs of Gorcum 1867 Oil on canvas; 96 x 71 cm Private collection This is a sketch for a picture painted to mark the canonisation of the Franciscan martyrs of Gorcum, a Dutch Catholic town captured by the Calvinists in 1572. The picture was acquired for the Gallery of Saints and the Beatified that Pius IX had built to display works of art commissioned to celebrate canonisations, and as a propaganda tool in an Italy now secular following its unification.

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Domenico Morelli (Naples 1826–1901) The Fall of Saint Paul 1876 Oil on canvas; 285 x 143 cm Altamura, Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta The painting was commissioned as part of a restoration scheme to bring the cathedral into line with the new figurative and liturgical requirements of a now united Italy. Altarpieces were commissioned from famous painters close to European naturalism. Morelli sets the scenes in a Palestine that is “at once dreamlike and realistic.”

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William-Adolphe Bouguereau (La Rochelle 1825–1905) Flagellation of Jesus Christ 1880 Oil on canvas; 310 x 213 cm La Rochelle, Musées d’art et d’histoire de La Rochelle This painting by Bouguerau – a leading Academician who studied the work of the Carracci and Roman architecture in Rome – was faulted at the 1880 Salon for imbuing the Flagellation with the mood of a typical Salon picture, thus causing aestheticism to prevail over a sense of drama.

Gustave Moreau (Paris 1826–98) Saint Sebastian 1870–5 or 1890 Oil on canvas; 115 x 90 cm Paris, Musée Gustave Moreau

Giuseppe Catani Chiti (Prato 1866–Florence 1945) The Saviour 1900 Oil and gold on wood 147/175 x 172 cm Siena, Basilica of San Francesco

The figure of Saint Sebastian, a model of beauty and ambiguous sensuality, allowed Symbolist painter Moreau to imbue a sacred theme with the nervous mix of aestheticism and spirituality that was such a mark of his style. The saint’s heroic stance and hieratic gaze echo the archaic features that the artist had assimilated in his study of the early Italian painters.

Catani Chiti transcended Ingres’ Purism with Pre-Raphaelite elements, his take on the Middle Ages and Renaissance moulded by Symbolism and by a nervous spirituality receptive to the esotericism of the Rosicrucians. For the frame, gilded by Gioacchino Corsi, the Falusi brothers sought their inspiration in Gentile da Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi.

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Rosa mystica At the turn of the century the theme of the Virgin acquired special significance as the Symbolist aesthetic began to take hold, artists imbuing the image with their strong aspiration to asceticism. Some, eager to render the ideal nature of the theme in the “modern style”, composed work that was stylistically and iconographically in line with the latest trends in European art. The section includes works that are wholly of the 20th century, testifying to the manner in which certain artists embraced the theme wholeheartedly (seeking their inspiration both in the Virgin’s humanity and in her divinity), alongside free and often bold interpretations. There was no lack of personal and at times downright controversial approaches to the theme, such as that of Edvard Munch whose Madonna was one of the most provocative images of Mary to emerge in the course of the 19th century.

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Domenico Morelli (Naples 1826–1901) Mater Purissima 1879–83 Oil on canvas; 200 x 110 cm Rome, GNAM - Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Morelli’s religious painting, forged in a Realist environment, turned interest in naturalism into spiritualism both by looking to the Near East and by adopting a “states of mind” approach. Reflecting a Symbolist sensitivity, the artist sublimates form in an evanescent application of colour.

Edvard Munch (Løten 1863–Ekely 1944) Madonna 1895–1902 Lithograph; 708 x 500 mm Private collection The two engravings are lithographic interpretations of one of Munch’s most famous works, Madonna, a subject to which he devoted also drawings and paintings on canvas. The Virgin’s facial expression merges erotic extasy with agony, while the sliver of a moon over her head calls to mind a halo.

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Edvard Munch (Løten 1863–Ekely 1944) Madonna II 1895–1902 Lithograph, hand-colored 605 x 445 mm Private collection Spermatozoa on the frame swim towards a fetus whose skeletal head, reminiscent of that in The Scream, alludes to the cycle of birth and death. Munch considered the moment of fertilisation to be sacred. Far from betraying any sacrilegious intent, the picture points up Munch’s interest in searching for common ground between Christianity and Freud’s approach to sexuality.

Adolfo de Carolis (Montefiore dell’Aso 1874–Rome 1928) Madonna, Praise be to You for the Light You Shed on Earth 1900 Oil and plaster relief decorations with gold leaf on cardboard 70.8 x 90 cm Private collection, courtesy Enrico Gallerie d’Arte, Milan In his first religious painting De Carolis sought inspiration for his composition in the Florentine artists of Benozzo Gozzoli and Fra Angelico’s era, for his faces in Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican and for his relief decoration in Pinturicchio’s work, but he also turned to Pre-Raphaelite symbolism for the divine apparition as a mystic vision inspired by the Dolce Stil Novo. 10

Adolfo Wildt (Milan 1868–1931) Mary Gives Birth to Christian Infants 1918 Plaster; 83 x 65 x 9 cm Venice, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna di Ca’ Pesaro Echoing the painting of the 14th and 15th centuries, Wildt’s Virgin is a synthesis of the medieval Dream of the Virgin and the iconography of Bergognone’s Virgin of the Veil in the Brera Gallery and Pisanello’s Madonna of Humility. The Virgin is the source both of the new life she has borne and of Man who will be redeemed by her Son’s sacrifice, to which the bunches of grapes on branches allude.

Libero Andreotti (Pescia 1875–Florence 1933) Madonna with Child 1923 Pietraforte; 89 x 43 x 31 cm Venice, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna di Ca’ Pesaro Andreotti shows the Christ Child blessing, His humanity extolled by a tender, touching gesture. Following Denis’ example, the artist portrays acquaintances in some of the figures, yet we can also detect 14th and 15th century sources – in the Virgin’s slender hands and the putto inspired by Donatello – embellished with golden highlights. 11

Tullio Garbari (Pergine Valsugana 1892 –Paris 1931) Our Lady of Peace 1927 Oil on wood; 90.5 x 70 cm Trento, Museo Diocesano Tridentino The panel, dated 1927 (the year the artist resumed painting) merges Primitivism with a renewed interest in Classical art, the two stylistic trends that were to polarise Italian art of the 20th century. The painting combines sacred Motherhood seated on a tree, almost a tribute to Segantini, with the simplicity of Douanier Rousseau’s work.

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Life Si sulis, of Christ: viverra? The Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, Nativity and Childhood of Christ

Si sulis, viverra? Vali, Catus orentiliena, sa consules ne publis ia ati sendeps, Cateriam inprehenatis caellem hos intia dis tuam tam ut face nestrac igna, maxim hoc tusquidemus, imo et Catquam est? P. Us senducitum, quam me deessimum aur. Si ta ex nest vivehebatere nertea re, quam ina nonsus, nondam manum factod diussus fectum seniqua mentem orum supplic aelartere dercesis adhusciis er inclus; The central sections of the exhibition follow the nonsisuloc remod auror hos C. Vivatudes erit Gospel story, the exhibits for each individual theme nos, ne optis Multoraecret Catque hebemus being displayed in chronological order. The life of abem optia quam ut veremura nonsuntem Christ is the underpinning the section, nimmove, dit leitmotif ocupios, C. Urbite alissimpost starting with the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary: L. Serritimmo tebatio rtimus, nonc tes virisqu while Segantini and Previati adopted a Divisionist amquem vatio uteatus. Mulegernium publiss style their ssincus depiction of etinatqua the sacred, Galileo Chini iliureviniviribe volus dertuam inprist? Econsulii consus created a humanpribefa settingceruntimo for the Annunciation and convemquita Cupior quid atumeri butem. Maurice conferred symbolic value on nature. Ignare publin vituus? Denis, is forperum his part, sought hisint. inspiration in the Solin tus essum aucto adhuit, quondum dium work of Fra Angelico, thus offering both a stylistic pote consust ionsultuus fuit di seremurnu cone model and a model of the perfect Christian artist. con se nonditam mo idem itua cont? Tatius, The cultural climate of the 1930s also spawned new omnihillerei is, octandiis. Sermius maximili, interpretations of thehictemuspio, theme, exemplified here by the moena, norum nonsil sente vius; work of Andreotti and Capogrossi. nostercerfex seropop ublicae quoniquem, notiThe of the Gospels squidnarrative dii probsenatus se in tamcontinues publius, sewith con the Nativity and Childhood of Christ, illustrated tri coerisq uodicat, obus fitabus, videtor tide- in works tima, factorte, nos ficaed caturemque inati iaeof the of differing styles. Between the beginning intem is imust cupio te hilicaet, orum century and the 1930s the image ofniquons the Holy Family ignaribuntis num deris cuperfi caudenihilis shifted fromsaSymbolism and Divisionism to Futurist Catiusa iusa painter vene Fillia’s aerodynamic forms.

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Giovanni Segantini (Arco 1858–Schafberg 1899) The Annunciation of the New Word 1896 Pencil, dark chalk, white highlighting on beige paper 44.7 x 33 cm Sankt Moritz, Segantini Museum Segantini was bound to a vision of nature, his chief muse, which he depicted using the Divisionist technique with a sensitivity at once spiritual and secular. His visionary Symbolism turns the message to Mary that she has conceived into a pandean, pantheistic announcement, the angel above the Virgin representing the spread of the new Word.

Vittorio Corcos (Livorno 1859–Florence 1933) Annunciation 1904 Oil on canvas; 220 x 180 cm Fiesole, Convent of San Francesco, Provincia Toscana di San Francesco Stimmatizzato, Ordine dei Frati Minori A rare example of a religious work by Corcos, who was busy with major portrait commissions at the time. The worldly nature of his painting emerges here in the greater attention he devotes to the dreamy figure – his daughter Maria Luisa, whose beauty echoed that of the Orientalist painting of the period – than to the religious message. 14

Galileo Chini (Florence 1873–1956) Annunciation c. 1906 Oil on plywood; 146 x 276 cm Private collection Chini cites Millet’s Angelus, of which he had a reproduction in his workshop, but for his Tuscan landscape he looks to Segantini’s Divisionist mountains which have the same religious significance. His figures echo the work of Fra Angelico, whose idealised settings engendered a revival reflected also in the painting’s “predella” format.

Gaetano Previati (Ferrara 1852–Lavagna 1920) Annunciation 1907–12 Oil on canvas; 40 x 87 cm Milan, Galleria d’Arte Moderna Previati renewed the vocabulary of sacred art in the late 19th century both with Divisionism and by looking beyond a mere repetition of the past. His figures’ features, never very pronounced, dissolve here in light, immersed in the transfiguration of a thready Divisionism whose primary aim was to convey sentiment.

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Glyn Warren Philpot (London 1884–1937) Angel of the Annunciation 1925 Oil on canvas 112 x 87 cm Brighton & Hove, The Royal Pavilion & Museums Philpot, who converted to Catholicism in 1905, sought freedom from dogmas and models for his erudite style inspired both by old masters and by his contemporaries. His acrobatic angel, reminiscent of Lotto, Pontormo or Rosso Fiorentino, lands in an English cottage and offers an anemone to the observer cast in the role of the Virgin Mary.

Maurice Denis (Granville 1870–Paris 1943) Annunciation at Fiesole 1928 Oil on canvas; 65.3 x 92 cm Private collection

Libero Andreotti (Pescia 1875–Florence 1933) Toeplitz Annunciation 1931 Bronze The Virgin Annunciate 159 x 62.5 x 32 cm Herald Angel 171 x 60 x 56 cm Florence, Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti In October 1931, the two figures enter the library of the Villa di Bellosguardo belonging to banker Ludovico Toeplitz de Gran Ry, of Polish descent, who was a prestigious and immensely erudite patron. Andreotti reinterprets the formal purity of the Italian Quattrocento, and of Donatello in particular, in two figures who convey the trepidation of the moment in which the Annunciation is made.

This was a favourite theme with Denis, who frequently set it in Fiesole in a landscape similar to those painted by such artists as Fra Angelico, his source of inspiration. The Gospel story dialogues with the landscape, while Florence appears in the early morning light in the distance. Denis wrote: “I believe that Art must sanctify nature, and that Vision without Spirit is vain.”

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Giuseppe Capogrossi (Rome 1900–1972) The Annunciation c. 1933 Oil on canvas; 115 x 83 cm Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne / Centre de création industrielle, donated by Count Emanuele Sarmiento, 1933 Capogrossi reached his artistic maturity in the early 1930s with a style based on a uniform palette close to the muralism favoured by the Fascist regime. The two statuesque figures clearly hark back to Classical art, and to ancient Rome in particular, but the painting is also imbued with a sense of suspended anticipation reminiscent of Magical Realism.

Gaetano Previati (Ferrara 1852–Lavagna 1920) Georgica 1905 Oil on canvas; 168 x 215 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea Set in a landscape that recalls the countryside around Ferrara, Georgica secularises the theme of the Holy Family, binding it to the sacred, circular flow of life itself. Echoes of Millet’s palette and a skilled use of light merge with the monumental sculptural construction of the central group, whose silhouettes form an ideal circle reminiscent of Michelangelo’s tondos.

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Arturo Martini (Treviso 1889–Milan 1947) Nativity Scene 1926 Painted and glazed ceramics ø 55 cm, h. 45 cm Genoa, Galleria d’Arte Moderna Genoese architect Mario Labò commissioned Martini to make a series of ceramics for the Monza Biennale of 1927, including this Nativity with its primitivist mood echoing popular devotion. Rather than consisting in traditional moving pieces, it is in effect a single sculpture in which the figures are attached to a base defining a circular space.

Pietro Bugiani (Pistoia 1905–92) Nativity (Evening) 1928 Oil on wood; 60 x 80 cm Florence, Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti The setting recalls the area around Pistoia where the artist developed a poetic rapport with nature that was to mark his entire career as a painter. In the course of long “learning” walks under Michelucci’s guidance, reading Dante and Petrarch and debating the lesson of Giotto and the other old masters, Bugiani perfected the stern formal synthesis visible in this work.

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Fillia (Luigi Colombo; Revello 1904– Turin 1936) The Holy Family c. 1931 Oil on canvas; 125 x 100 cm Gaudenzi Collection The Futurist Room at the International Exhibition of Religious Art in Padua in 1931 fuelled a debate between the desire to renew art and the need to respect religious iconography, drawing the attention of both artists and the Church to the issue. The same year saw the publication of the Manifesto for Futurist Religious Art penned by Fillia and Marinetti.

Odilon Redon (Bordeaux 1840–Paris 1926) Flight into Egypt 1903 Oil on canvas; 45.4 x 38 cm Paris, Musée d’Orsay, bequeathed by Mme Arï Redon according to the wishes of her husband, the artist’s son, 1984 Redon’s drawings and engravings, dominated by darkness until 1890, were to open up to light and colour thanks to Gauguin’s influence. Born twenty years before the leading Symbolists, Redon inhabited a dreamlike interior world, producing creations linked to the unconscious mind and thus also paving the way for Surrealism.

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3.14 Élisabeth Chaplin (Fontainebleau 1890–Florence 1982) Rest in Egypt (Oasis) c. 1927 Oil on canvas; 139 x 135.5 cm Florence, Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti French but a naturalised Florentine, Chaplin was raised in a sophisticated artistic environment. Her painting’s composition reveals the influence of the Nabis, its figures caught in a revolving movement. While the iconography is bound to tradition, the lively palette betrays the influence of Symbolism.

3.15 Maurice Denis (Granville 1870–Paris 1943) Nazareth 1905 Oil on canvas; 114 x 162 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea The three girls are probably Berthe de La Laurencie’s daughters, whose portraits Denis had been commissioned to paint about a year earlier. The golden, rural setting is dominated by a pergola adorned with a climbing vine, close to the Christ Child (“I am the true vine”, John 15:1).

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Life of Christ: Miracles and Parables Christ’s virtuous and exemplary human life acquired a newly central role in the period stretching from the transitional years of the early part of the 20th century to the years immediately after World War Two, in a century filled with traumatic events and intense cultural developments at the heart of which lay man with his certainties and his fragility – from Bistolfi’s Christ Walking on Water whose presentation at the 1899 Venice Biennale sparked an intense debate on the theme of sacred art, to the interpretations of the Prodigal Son theme, popular in the 1920s as a metaphor of the return to tradition. Artists often chose miracles and parables as their subject matter for their autobiographical potential even when the works were not specifically designed to adorn places of worship.

3.16 Leonardo Bistolfi (Casale Monferrato 1859–La Loggia 1933) Christ Walking on Water 1896 Terracotta; 40 x 34 x 39.5 Casale Monferrato, Museo Civico e Gipsoteca Bistolfi This maquette, subsequently translated into a life-size statue in plaster and bronze, has all the freshness of the original idea. The ascetic, emaciated Christ – whose hieratic, Sphinx-like frontal aspect Bistolfi may have studied in Turin’s Museo Egizio – marked a new approach to traditional iconography, sparking an early debate on the renewal of sacred art. 22

Pietro Annigoni (Milan 1910–Florence 1988) The Raising of Lazarus 1946 Oil on canvas on wood; 98 x 80 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea Annigoni painted the Raising of Lazarus following his younger brother’s death after his release from a concentration camp, as though attempting to exorcise the tragedy. Continuing to show a penchant for sacred themes in the postwar era, Annigoni bathes the Gospel story in a supernatural light.

Baccio Maria Bacci (Florence 1888–1974) The Prodigal Son 1925 Oil on canvas; 70.5 x 60 cm Milan, Museo del Novecento Bacci depicts the moment in the parable when the young man, who has fallen on hard times, becoming a swineherd and eating the same food as his beasts, decides to return to his father’s house. While the symbolic light echoes the style of Caravaggio, it is set in a painting that maintains a 20th century strength in the artist’s choice of palette and in his brushwork.

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Arturo Martini (Treviso 1889–Milan 1947) Prodigal Son 1927 Bronze; 219 x 149 x 100 cm Acqui Terme, “Jona Ottolenghi” Nursing Home The theme, inspired by the Return to Order as a metaphor of the reconciliation between the modern and the Classical in the wake of the Avant-Garde rift, also has an autobiographical connotation in view of Martini’s father’s death. Martini himself tells us that he sought stylistic and iconographical ideas in ancient and medieval art.

Life of Christ: The Passion, the Last Supper, the Way of the Cross The events in Christ’s life are illustrated by works chronologically far removed from one another, comparing modes of artistic expression which occasionally address the theme of the sacred with significant and sweeping new takes on modernity. For instance Stanley Spencer places Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem in an English urban setting, Costetti in a Florentine suburb. The Stations of the Cross were another popular theme, Previati’s Divisionist approach based on the symbolic value of colours giving way to Maraini’s measured, level modelling and Fontana’s unruly, pained style heralding Abstract art, while the explosive art of Otto Dix reveals his abhorrence of modern atrocities for which the sorrowful trajectory of the Saviour’s life is a metaphor.

Stanley Spencer (Cookham 1891–Cliveden 1959) Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem 1920 Oil on canvas; 114.2 x 144.8 cm Leeds, Leeds Museums and Galleries Spencer – who set Christ’s Entry in his native Cookham, outside the house built by his grandfather, in a space where perspective is distorted – offers us an unusual take on religious art by introducing the themes of Christian Socialism propounded by Harry Slesser, a Labour leader in whose home Spencer was living when he painted the picture.

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Giovanni Costetti (Reggio nell’Emilia 1874– Settignano 1949) Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem c. 1923–6 Oil on cardboard; 70 x 101 cm Florence, Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti

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Felice Carena (Cumiana 1879–Venice 1966) Apostles 1926 Oil on canvas; 135 x 190 cm Florence, Galleria d’arte moderna di Palazzo Pitti

Costetti imbues Christ’s Entry, in its modern setting amid the factory chimneys of a Florentine suburb, with the ideas on the brotherhood of man and Christian Socialism also found in Spencer. The style reflects his recent spell in Paris and his familiarity with the work of Kees van Dongen and Modigliani.

After the Last Supper, Christ goes to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane while the apostles with him sleep. The painting reveals the influence of Classical sources as well as 17th century realism and the style of Caravaggio, combining them in a composition based on crossed diagonal lines pulled together by a soft, warm light.

Stanley Spencer (Cookham 1891–Cliveden 1959) The Last Supper 1920 Oil on canvas; 91.5 x 122 cm Cookham, Stanley Spencer Gallery

Giuseppe Montanari (Osimo 1899–Varese 1976) The Kiss of Judas 1918 Oil on canvas; 80 x 96 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea

The Last Supper is being held in the barn at Fernlea, the Spencers’ Cookham home. The painting’s focal point are the folds of the drapery, midway between Cubism and Futurism, culminating in an unusual tangle of bare feet. The compositional models based on Donatello and the light colours inspired by Giotto were intended to convey the feeling of a renewal of sacred art.

The perspective from below distorts and accentuates the unmoving quality of the figures frozen in a chill light which, far from enfolding them, turns things into geometrical objects and people into statues. In Montanari’s early work, colour was his favourite means of expression for revisiting reality.

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Gaetano Previati (Ferrara 1852–Lavagna 1920) Jesus Crowned with Thorns (Station I of the Cross) 1901–2 Oil on canvas; 121 x 107 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea This First Station is brought to life by its warm tone reminiscent of Titian, though the tone becomes chillier and the compositions shadier in the later station, alluding to the waning day and the darkening sky. The artist’s focus on faces sets the work in the context of the northern European Expressionists’ exploration of the depiction of states of mind.

Antonio Maraini (Rome 1886–Florence 1963) Stations of the Cross - Stations IV, VII, 1926 Plaster, 120 x 80 cm each Figline Valdarno, Church of Saint Francis - Provincia Toscana di San Francesco Stimmatizzato, Ordine dei Frati Minori. Donated by Giovanni Pratesi The Stations of the Cross, commissioned from Maraini for Rhodes cathedral when the island was an Italian colony, were much admired for their ability to recount the sacred drama with a sobriety that was new to modern religious art. The panels portray only the figures and details that allow the observer to identify the event, thus making it easier to follow the stages in Christ’s Passion. 28

Lucio Fontana (Rosario de Santa Fe 1899 –Varese 1968) Via Crucis (Stations II, III, XIII) 1955–6 41,5 x 21 x 10 cm each Ceramics with reflective glaze Milan, Museo Diocesano, from Lombardia Region This Way of the Cross – the second of three that Fontana made – is known as his “white” Via Crucis. Designed for Marco Zanuso’s chapel in the Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua Institute in Milan, it shows the artist’s transition from figurative to abstract art. The gaping slashes herald the ceramic “cuts” for which he became celebrated from 1958.

Georges Rouault (Paris 1871–1958) Ecce Homo 1952 Oil on plywood; 50 x 45 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea Rouault tirelessly explored the face of Christ, his own religious sentiment being moulded by solidarity towards the suffering occasioned by violence, social injustice and corruption. His spirituality was influenced by the philosopher Jacques Maritain, with whom he shared a deep friendship, but also by the thought of Catholic writer Léon Bloy.

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Georges Rouault (Paris 1871–1958) The Veil of Veronica 1946 Oil on cardboard on wood 51 x 37 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea Rouault’s painting is characterised by broad swathes of colour and marked outlines that point to his early days as a restorer of stained-glass windows. The image is twodimensional because Christ’s face is miraculously impressed on the light veil offered Him by Veronica on the way to Calvary to wipe the sweat and blood off His face.

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Divine Mercy - Station VIII of the Cross 1944–6 Mixed media on cardboard 100 x 75.5 cm Cortona, Museo Diocesano del Capitolo di Cortona During World War II, Dix used religious themes as a vehicle for voicing his abhorrence of the war and the Nazi regime. The setting in a modern city and the crowd’s dress are contemporary, yet at the same time we can detect echoes of certain 15th century devotional panels and of Goya’s art.

Otto Dix (Gera 1891–Singen 1969) Christ and Veronica 1943 Oil on wood 81 x 100 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea During World War II, Dix used religious themes as a vehicle for voicing his abhorrence of the war and the Nazi regime. The setting in a modern city and the crowd’s dress are contemporary, yet at the same time we can detect echoes of certain 15th century devotional panels and of Goya’s art.

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Life of Christ: Crucifixion, Deposition, Pietà, Resurrection Many 20th century artists were particularly fond of the theme of the Crucifixion and Deposition (which had already been addressed in an innovative manner in the late 19th century) because it was felt to be close to the condition of modern man, especially in the years following the two world wars. The theme also lent itself to metaphorical interpretation and to the transposition of the formal and expressive values proper to the Avant-Garde movements of Expressionism, Cubism and Futurism. Artists were drawn to the theme by the tragedy of war: Chagall, Manzù and Guttuso, for instance, recounted the horrors of war and of Nazism. The section hosts various works covering half a century, highlighting the different trends and clashes of expression in the relationship between art and religious sentiment. The Resurrection of Christ, though a central event that sets Christianity apart from other religions, was not one of the themes most commonly addressed by artists between the middle of the 19th century and the aftermath of World War Two.

Pablo Picasso (Málaga 1881–Mougins 1973) Christ on the Cross 1896–7 Oil and charcoal on paper 73.5 x 54.4 cm Barcelona, Museu Picasso, donated by Pablo Picasso Picasso produced this study at a time when he sought inspiration in the work of the old masters, in this instance Murillo. Some have likened Christ’s head to a dog or a wolf, but blasphemous intent is unlikely in a fifteenyear-old. Even though Picasso is known for his openly stated atheism, he addressed the theme of Christ’s Passion on more than one occasion in the course of his career. 32

Max Ernst (Brühl 1891–Paris 1976) Crucifix 1914 Oil on canvas; 55 x 38 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea The Crucifix, one of Ernst’s few religious works, is a product of his formative years. Aware of the work being done by the European Avant-Garde, yet also recalling Grünewald’s art, Ernst transformed his sources of inspiration into a personal style. This picture is a rare example of his early development in an Expressionist environment before he embraced Dadaism and Surrealism.

Primo Conti (Florence 1900–Fiesole 1988) Crucifixion 1924 Oil on canvas 190 x 130 cm Florence, Convent of Santa Maria Novella Traditional iconography is here transformed into a pyramidal scene converging towards Christ’s head. The drama of the event is underscored by the darkness caused by the eclipse of the sun mentioned in the Gospels (depicted on the right) in a nocturne revealing Conti’s personal interpretation of the 17th century art he had admired at an exhibition in Florence in 1922.

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Marc Chagall (Moishe Segal; Vitebsk 1887– Saint-Paul-de-Vence 1985) White Crucifixion 1938 Oil on canvas; 155 x 139.8 cm Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Alfred S. Alschuler This painting, dated 1938, is a bold statement deploring the persecution of the Jews. Chagall replaces Christ’s loincloth with a prayer shawl and His crown of thorns with a kippah, adding figures in traditional garb, synagogues burning and people fleeing in fear. That Pope Francis has declared it to be his favourite painting may be due to the bold interfaith spirit it exudes.

Giacomo Manzù (Giacomo Manzoni; Bergamo 1908–Ardea 1991) Crucifixion 1939–40 Bronze; 48 x 38 x 5.5 cm Rome, GNAM - Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea At the outbreak of World War II, Manzù expressed his opposition to dictatorship by introducing elements in his Crucifixion that set it squarely in the modern era. A soldier wears a Prussian helmet and the figures are dramatically naked. The work caused quite a stir in conservative circles and was even branded blasphemous, but it won the Premio Bergamo award nevertheless. 34

Renato Guttuso (Bagheria 1911–Rome 1987) Crucifixion 1940–1 Oil on canvas; 198.5 x 198.5 cm Rome, GNAM - Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea During the war years Guttuso was eager to create a secular portrait of collective despair, using lateCubist elements but with Italian colour. Criticised because Christ is concealed by the thief’s cross and because the Magadalen is “indecent” in her nakedness, the painting still won second prize in the Premio Bergamo award.

Graham Sutherland (London 1903–80) Study for Crucifixion 1947 Oil on masonite; 97 x 118 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea This study bears witness to the lengthy birth pangs of the picture Sutherland painted for St. Matthew’s in Northampton. His model is the Christ in Grünewald’s Isenheim Altar (1512–16) now in Colmar, but he also looked to Picasso’s Guernica, to Bacon and to the photos taken by the Allies when freeing Nazi concentration camps.

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Lucio Fontana (Rosario de Santa Fe 1899 –Varese 1968) Crucifixion 1951 Polychrome ceramics 68 x 40 x 30 cm Private collection

Pericle Fazzini (Grottammare 1913–Rome 1987) Deposition 1946 Bas-relief, bronze 180.5 x 85 x 3.5 cm Rome, Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale

Lucio Fontana entered the competition for Milan cathedral’s fifth door in 1950. While not specifically embracing the competition’s religious tenor, a spiritual inclination of a universal nature allowed him to embark on a renewal of the already broad range of religious subjects produced in ceramic in Albissola.

Fazzini uses a religious theme to express his sense of participation in the sorrowful events of the war. He dresses some of his figures in modern clothing to highlight the reference to that contemporary tragedy, but the overall message is positive, the wind ruffling the composition sweeping away conflict and sorrow.

Emilio Vedova (Venice 1919–2006) Contemporary Crucifixion - Cycle of Protest n° 4 1953 oil on canvas; 130 x 170 cm Rome, GNAM - Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea

Fausto Melotti (Rovereto 1901–Milan 1986) Deposition 1933 Bronze; 86 x 60 x 26 cm Private collection

Vedova began to work in the early ‘fifties on a series of cycles to which he was to devote rest of the decade. Painting in these cycles became a gestural expression seeking to translate the sense of life in the contemporary world into painted space. He chose this sacred theme without either religious or blasphemous intent, but simply on account of the powerful drama that it embodies.

During a spell at the Scuola Professionale in Cantù, Melotti produced a number of religious works including the Deposition and the Supper at Emmaus, both of which are on display in the exhibition. In the sculptural synthesis of his volumes, Melotti reveals a debt both to the academic teaching of Wildt and – in his spare, unfussy treatement of the figures’ bodies – to the work of Arturo Martini.

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Felice Carena (Cumiana 1879–Venice 1966) Deposition 1938–9 Oil on canvas; 197 x 145 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea The Deposition is dated 1938–9, yet it was already in Carena’s Florence workshop in 1934. While stating that he wished to immerse “art in ever greater humanity,” the painter (who gave Christ his own features and the Virgin those of his wife) continued nevertheless to reflect the lesson of Michelangelo’s Bandini and Rondanini Pietàs and of El Greco.

Luigi Bonazza (Arco 1877–Trento 1965) Deposition c. 1916 Pencil and pastel on paper 82 x 176 cm Trento, private collection Bonazza trained (and lived for a long time) in Vienna, embracing the Sezession. On his return to Trento, then under Austrian rule, his painting continued to testify to the enduring influence of the Secessionist style in Italy. This drawing, one of his few religious works, harks back to the Pietà that Franz von Stuck had painted, after an original by Holbein, in 1891.

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Vincent van Gogh (Groot Zundert 1853–Auvers-surOise 1890) The Pietà (after Delacroix) 1889 circa Oil on canvas; 41.5 x 34 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea Despite his religious sentiment Van Gogh rarely tackled religious subjects, and when he did do so it was only to revisit others’ work such as Delacroix’s Pietà of 1850, of which he owned a reproduction in black and white. Vincent gave his own features to this, his only depiction of Christ, sporting red hair and a short beard, only months before he committed suicide.

Tullio Garbari (Pergine Valsugana 1892–Paris 1931) The Deposed 1929 Oil on cardboard; 49 x 34 cm Florence, Musei Civici Fiorentini, Collezioni del Novecento The Deposed embodies Maritain’s concept of the maladresse (clumsiness) that enriches the artistic creation process, imbuing the painting with both a human and a religious tone. Garbari here revisits the art of Mantegna and Orazio Borgianni in an approach that betrays familiarity with the work of Douanier Rousseau, with European primitivism and with popular devotional painting.

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Émile Bernard (Lille 1868–Paris 1941) Resurrection 1925–30 Oil on cardboard; 69 x 96 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea This is an interpretation of a Michelangelo drawing now in Windsor Castle which can be dated to c. 1532, which was never translated into a complete work and whose destination is uncertain. Bernard’s artistic vocabulary includes strong, expressive highlights in the figures’ heavy black outlines and an intensely textural quality to the brushwork.

Fausto Melotti (Rovereto 1901–Milan 1986) Supper at Emmaus 1933 Bronze; 90 x 60 x 36 cm Private collection Bent on renewing religious art in the early ‘thirties, Melotti reinterpreted the teachings of Valori Plastici and of Carrà’s primitivism. The result can be seen in his graphic treatment of surfaces, his handling of faces, his figures’ tubular limbs, a precarious spatial balance and the inverted perspective of the table.

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Severini: Mural Decoration from Spirituality to Poetry

A tight selection of decorative schemes allows the visitor to explore the work of Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) in the Swiss churches of Semsales (1925–6), La Roche (1927–8), Tavannes (1930), Saint-Pierre in Fribourg (1931–2; 1950–1) and Notre-Dame du Valentin in Lausanne (1933–4). These projects placed Severini in the forefront of the drive to renew sacred art, thanks also to the crucial spiritual and notional influence of Jacques Maritain, with whom Severini shared the belief that Christian art “gushes from a heart filled with grace.” The fertile bond of friendship between the philosopher and the artist helped to forge the kind of figurative and conceptual environments that were favoured by the progressive Catholic circles eager to see iconographic reform and, in particular, a renewal of religious architecture.

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Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Study concerning an early solution for the windows of the lateral nave of the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre in Semsales 1924–5 Tempera, ink and watercolor on cardboard; 325 x 220 mm Private collection

Alexandre Cingria (Geneva 1879-Lausanne) Study for a stained-glass window for the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre in Semsales 1924 Tempera and pencil on tracing paper; 275 x 405 mm Roma, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) A. Angel Rough sketch for a mosaic of the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre a Semsales 1926 Tempera on paper; 150 x 150 mm Strasbourg, Collections de la Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire

B. Symbols of the Sacred Heart and Eucharist Rough sketch for a decoration motif of the church of SaintNicolas de Myre in Semsales 1927 Tempera on paper; 240 x 170 mm Kolbsheim, Collection Cercle d’études Jacques et Raïssa Maritain

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Rough sketch of part of the apse of the church in La Roche 1927 Tempera and pencil on cardboard 538 x 379 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

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Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Still Life Rough sketch for the fresco of the ceiling of the tribune of the church in La Roche 1927 Tempera on cardboard 365 x 345 mm Ravenna, Arts High School “Nervi-Severini”

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Rough sketch for the decoration of the interior of the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1931 Tempera, gold and silver on cardboard; 555 x 410 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

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Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) A. Pietà Rough sketch for the fresco on the triumphal arch of the church in La Roche 1927–8 Tempera on cardboard 230 x 460 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

Gino Severini (Cortona, 1883–Paris 1966) A. Sketch for the decoration of the interior of the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg from the lateral nave 1931 Tempera on paper; 560 x 415 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

B. Annunciation Rough sketch for a fresco in the apsidal area of the church of Notre-Dame du Valentin in Lausanne 1933 Tempera on cardboard 260 x 180 mm Private collection

B. Design for the tribune of the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1931 Tempera and gold on cardboard 434 x 1150 mm Franchina Collection C. King David and Angel Musicians Rough sketch for the organ tribune painting in the church in La Roche 1927–8 Tempera, pencil and gold on cardboard; 269 x 744 mm Franchina Collection 45

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) Decoration for the tomb of his son Jacques 1933–4 Mosaic; 64 x 34.5 cm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) A. The Delivery of the Keys to Saint Peter Rough sketch for the definitive version of the altar mosaic in the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1950 Tempera on cardboard 561 x 416 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

B. Mosaic from a detail of The Delivery of the Keys to Saint Peter in the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1950–1 Mosaic; 54.5 x 42.2 cm Franchina Collection

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Gino Severini (Cortona 1883–Paris 1966) A1. Study of the “baldaquin” for the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre in Semsales 1925 pencil on paper; 190 x 208 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

A2. Study for the “baldaquin” for the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre in Semsales 1925 Tempera and pencil on cardboard mm 110 x 197 Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection A3. Study of freeze for the “baldaquin” for the church of Saint-Nicolas de Myre in Semsales 1925 Tempera and pencil on cardboard mm 68 x 237 Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

B1. Saint with Clasped Hands Study for a figure of the mosaic on the façade of the church of Christ-Roi in Tavannes 1930 Pencil on paper; 337 x 260 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

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B2. Praying Saint Study for a figure of the mosaic on the façade of the church of Christ-Roi in Tavannes 1930 Pencil on paper; 337 x 260 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

B3. Virgin Study for a figure of the mosaic on the façade of the church of Christ-Roi in Tavannes 1930 Pencil on paper; 337 x 260 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

D. Study for the apse of the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1931–2 China ink on paper; 174 x 100 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

E. Study for arches and intradoses for the church of Notre-Dame du Valentin in Lausanne 1933 Tempera on paper 210 x 135 mm each Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

C. Study for a mosaic of the choir in the church of Saint-Pierre in Freiburg 1931 Pastel and pencil on paper 320 x 235 mm Rome, Romana Severini Brunori Collection

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SACRED SPACE Space, Light and Sacred Aura 2015 Video installation Triptych on 3 vertically-mounted 65” screens Duration: 12’ Concept and directed by: Vincenzo Capalbo, Marilena Bertozzi Production: Art Media Studio, Florence © FLC by SIAE 2015 The video-triptych uses visual suggestion, image, light and sound to explore the space of the church and to recount the development of religious architecture from St. Paul’s Within the Walls and the renovation of the façades of Naples, Amalfi and Florence cathedrals in the Neo-Gothic style in Italy, to the church of NotreDame de la Consolation in Rancy designed by Auguste Perret in reinforced concrete, marking the transition from historicism to modernity, and right up to Le Corbusier’s sublimation of space and light in the crypt of the monastic church of La Tourette in Éveux and in the chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp. The triple screen is inspired by an altarpiece in which moving pictures recount the art of building, space as a player in the narrative, a sculptural masterpiece imbued with profound spirituality.

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THE CHURCH

The portrayal of cardinals and popes in the 19th century set out to highlight the Church’s power and magnificence, while in the 20th century it acquired a controversial meaning in the work of such artists as Scipione, Wildt and Manzù. The role of decoration is exemplified by the panels of Maurice Denis and by sketches inspired by the Beuron art school which, though named after the Benedictine Archabbey of Beuron in Germany, included European artists of varying origin and was one of the first instances of the rebirth of sacred art at the turn of the century; while a selection of liturgical vestmenwwts, such as the chasuble designed by Matisse, evokes Catholic ritual. The figure of Saint Francis, depicted with increasing frequency on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his death in 1926 and of his proclamation as patron saint of Italy in 1939 – also in relation to the propaganda fuelled by the Fascist regime – is evoked by Wildt’s marble statue of the saint.

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Maurice Denis (Granville 1870–Paris 1943) Preparation of the Censer, Preparation of the flower baskets from the cycle The Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Glorification of the Sacrifice of Mass 1899 Oil on canvas; 250 x 115 cm each Paris, Musée d’Orsay, on loan from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs These canvases are part of a decorative scheme for the chapel of the Collège de SainteCroix at Le Vésinet, Denis’ first commission for a place of worship. The architectural conception of space, visible in the trellis, is a result of a penchant for classicism acquired after seeing Raphael’s work in the Vatican and viewing Piero della Francesca’s frescoes in Arezzo for the second time.

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Father Desiderius (Peter) Lenz OSB (Haigerloch 1832–Beuron 1928 ) Stories of Mary (Santa Maria di Loreto, German Chapel) 1891 Pencil on paper; 198 x 617 mm Beuron, Kunstarchiv der Benediktiner-Erzabtei Sankt Martin A scheme for refurbishing and redecorating the Basilica di Santa Maria in Loreto included a commission for the chancel wall, known as the “German Chapel”, assigned to a Benedictine named Father Desiderius Lenz and to Ludovico Seitz. Father Desiderius, who founded the Beuronschule, or Beuron Art School, promoted a renewal of sacred art.

Father Desiderius (Peter) Lenz OSB (Haigerloch 1832–Beuron 1928) 1891 a. The Vision of Saint Benedict Pencil and watercolour on paper 188 x 99 mm

b. The Death of Saint Benedict Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper; 192 x 117 mm

c. Vision of the Death and Transitus of Saint Benedict Pencil and watercolour ink on paper; 192 x 110 mm Beuron, Kunstarchiv der Benediktiner-Erzabtei Sankt Martin Sketches for a decorative cycle known as the “Cycle of the Cross” for the tower of Montecassino Abbey, dated 1896. The cycle was destroyed in the Allied air raid of 15 February 1944.

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Father Willibrord (Jan) Verkade (Zaandam 1868–Beuron 1946) Mary and Eve (Immaculate Conception and Original Sin) 1905 Pencil and charcoal on paper 210.5 x 160 cm Beuron, Kunstarchiv der Benediktiner-Erzabtei Sankt Martin This sketch was shown at the 23rd Sezession Exhibition in Vienna in 1905, together with a section of works from the Beuronschule.

Adolfo Wildt (Milan 1868–1931) Saint Francis 1925 Marble; 45 x 47 x 26 cm Forlì, Palazzo Romagnoli, Collezioni del Novecento This Saint Francis was commissioned by Forlì-born diplomat Raniero Paulucci di Calboli to mark the 700th anniversary of the saint’s death in 1926. When the picture was shown at the Venice Biennale it triggered a debate between those who faulted the saint’s emaciated aspect and the artist’s excessive display of virtuoso skill, and those who appreciated his effort to transcend marble as a medium.

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Gerardo Dottori (Perugia 1884–1977), design; Giulio Cesare Giuliani (Viterbo 1882–Rome 1954) execution Saint Francis 1933 Leaded stained-glass window 85 x 55 cm Rome, Vetrate d’Arte Giuliani By the early ‘thirties Dottori had reached the high point in his exploration of sacred themes and his attempt to define new codes for modern religious art using the vocabulary of Aeropainting, whose bird’s eye views offered a means of capturing man’s sense of wonder before the magnificence of creation.

Adolfo Wildt (Milan 1868–1931) Pius XI 1926 Gilded marble; 113 x 116 x 65 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea With its fixed gaze, its rigid bust and its golden symbols, this Pius XI is an icon of the Church on earth, a latter-day idol, rather than the portrait of a man. The bust combines realism with abstraction, skilfully merging echos of Ferrarese 15th century painting and 17th century sculpture.

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Scipione (Gino Bonichi; Macerata 1904– Arco 1933) The Cardinal Dean (Portrait of Cardinal Vannuttelli) 1930 Oil on wood; 133.7 x 117.3 cm Rome, Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale The symbols surrounding the cardinal, who is seated before St. Peter’s, hark back to Christian iconography, to the Papacy and to the Apocalypse. But in a style that echoes the mood of European Expressionism, Scipione combines a dreamlike vision with the sumptous, sensual, fleeting quality of Baroque Rome in a painting which appears to suggest that the end may well be nigh.

Giacomo Manzù (Giacomo Manzoni; Bergamo 1908–Ardea 1991) Great Cardinal 1955 Bronze; 209 x 114 x 130 cm Venice, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna di Ca’ Pesaro Manzù wrote: “The first time I saw cardinals was in St. Peter’s in 1934. I was struck by their stiff mass, unmoving yet vibrant with compressed spirituality. I saw them as so many statues, a series of cubes in a line.” The artist turned them into compositions devoid of any attempt at portraiture, in an effort to convey not “the majesty of the Church” but “the majesty of forms.” 58

Alfredo Ravasco (Genoa 1873–Ghiffa 1958) Reliquary of Saints Gervasius and Protasius 1936 Gilded silver, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, precious stones, pearls Urn: 50.2 x 60 x 22 cm; base: 5.2 x 28 x 72.2 cm Milan, Capitolo Metropolitano This reliquary, donated to Milan cathedral by Cardinal Schuster, reveals the influence of the rationalist religious architecture that made its first appearance in Italy in the early ‘thirties. Formal simplification and decoration relying for effect on the colours of the materials used have suggested the name of Alfredo Ravasco, a leading light in the renewal of the goldsmith’s art in the religious sphere.

Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis 1869–Nice 1954) Green Chasuble 1951 Silk; 127 x 192 cm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea This chasuble, along with five others in the various liturgical colours, was intended for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, a project inspired by Sister Jacques-Marie, Matisse’s former nurse who became a novice in the Dominican convent of Lacordaire. For these vestments Matisse turned to the work of Father Marie-Alain Couturier, a leading player in the renewal of 59 religious art in France.

PRAYER

The exhibition closes on the discreet evocation of Prayer: prayer marking the hours in the day, personified by the sculpture of Vincenzo Vela, who imbues his figure with a sense of domestic intimacy and private devotion, by Millet’s extremely well-known Angelus, a universal paradigm of devotion deeply rooted in work and the flow of the seasons, or by the lyrically introspective young girl portrayed by Casorati. Munch’s father at prayer, in a northern European environment heavy with a sense of anguish, sits beside the Mediterranean (yet no less dramatic) prayer of Viani’s blind man. In the evening prayer, the moment of private devotion that precedes sleep, Cagnaccio di San Pietro brings together the innocence of childhood and the purity of religious sentiment; while María Blanchard addresses a theme – a young girl’s first communion – to which artists turned with a certain frequency, yet she transforms it into a dreamlike image in which the figure’s hieratic quality conveys the impression of a modern mosaic.

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Vincenzo Vela (Ligornetto 1820–1891) Morning Prayer 1846 Plaster; 139 x 59.4 x 72.6 cm Ligornetto, Museo Vincenzo Vela, Ufficio federale della cultura This plastercast is a preparatory work for a marble sculpture commissioned from young Vela by Count Giulio Litta Visconti, a patriot and collector of Romantic paintings, on the advice of Francesco Hayez. Updating the composition of Bartolini’s Faith in God, Vela imbues the figure with a feeling of domestic intimacy and private devotion.

Jean-François Millet (Gréville 1814–Barbizon 1875) The Angelus 1857–9 Oil on canvas; 55.5 x 66 cm Paris, Musée d’Orsay, bequeathed by Alfred Chauchard This extremely famous composition has become a global icon for spirituality associated with the sentiment of nature and of man’s toil, conveyed in the simple yet solemn gestures of the two figures who stand out against a sweeping landscape. The bell tower is ringing out the Angelus, calling people to the evening prayer.

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Edvard Munch (Løten 1863–Ekely 1944) Old Man Praying 1902 Woodcut in two types of wood printed on Japanese paper 519 x 376 mm Vatican City, Musei Vaticani, Collezione d’Arte Contemporanea This woodcut depicts Munch’s father deep in prayer, a posture in which the painter had surprised him many years earlier on returning home after the two men had had a flaming row. Munch conveys the psychological condition of his father, a man “of a nervous disposition, obsessively religious to the point of psychosis,” by painting him next to a huge shadow cast on the wall.

María Blanchard (Santander 1881–Paris 1932) Girl at her First Communion 1914–20 Oil on canvas, collage; 180 x 124 cm Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Blanchard began this picture in Madrid in 1914 but only finished it in Paris. The painting, which shows traces of the Cubist experience in a certain stiffness of line and draughtsmanship alongside a certain crudeness that harks back to José Gutiérrez Solana, betrays the deep existential bitterness of the painter, a “magical and sorrowful” figure handicapped from birth.

Felice Casorati (Novara 1883–Turin 1963) The Prayer 1914 Tempera on moleskin 130 x 120 cm Verona, Galleria d’Arte Moderna Achille Forti This picture combines a line defining the young girl’s head in a simplicity that owes a debt to Casorati’s interaction with Arturo Martini and his skill in woodcutting, with the artist’s passion for the work of Klimt and the Secessionist decorative style, alongside echos of Oriental taste and of Botticelli’s work.

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Lorenzo Viani (Viareggio 1882–Ostia 1936) Blind Man’s Prayer 1920–3 Charcoal, tempera and oil on cardboard; 96.6 x 66.5 cm Viareggio, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea “Lorenzo Viani” Viani merges Expressionist tones, social themes and echos of Tuscan 13th and 14th century art in a plain, almost rough painting on poor supports perfectly suited to portraying the condition of society’s down and outs. The Blind Man’s Prayer conveys the full power of clear archaicisms and anatomical malformations combined with a certain religious reverence.

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Cagnaccio di San Pietro (Natale Scarpa; Desenzano del Garda 1897–Venice 1946) Prayer 1932 Oil on wood; 80 x 60 cm Rome, GNAM - Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea This painting consists of a handful of coloured elements: the nightshirt and sheets are pale, while the walls of the room enclosing the spatial box are white with the sole intrusion of a small votive picture. The clarity creates a mood of suspension, but a light from outside the picture bathes the child’s face, conveying a deeply symbolic significance.

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Panels written by Lucia Mannini, Anna Mazzanti, Ludovica Sebregondi Captions written by Ludovica Sebregondi Editorial coordination Ludovica Sebregondi Manuela Bersotti Translations Stephen Tobin Graphic design RovaiWeber design

This publication brings together the explanatory texts of the exhibition Divine Beauty from Van Gogh to Chagall and Fontana Florence, Palazzo Strozzi 24 September 2015–24 January 2016 curated by Lucia Mannini, Anna Mazzanti, Ludovica Sebregondi, Carlo Sisi Promoted ed organised by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi with the collaboration of Arcidiocesi di Firenze Ex Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze Musei Vaticani With the support of Comune di Firenze Camera di Commercio di Firenze Associazione Partners Palazzo Strozzi Regione Toscana Main Sponsor Banca CR Firenze Under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic With the patronage of Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo Consolato onorario di Francia a Firenze Expo Milano 2015

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Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Piazza Strozzi, 50123 Firenze

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