Two top museums in Florence are exhibiting paintings and drawings from Dutch artists. The event is linked to the 50th anniversary of the Dutch University Institute for Art History, NIKI. The institute has built a reputation as an independent research centre. By Philip Smet*

Rafael and Hans Memling; Jan van Eyck and Botticelli; Rogier van der Weyden and Ghirlandaio. A grand mix of paintings from Italian and Dutch top artists from the 14th and 15th. Centuries. They have come together to decorate the walls of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and their colours leap out at you from the canvas.

Italy
The old Medici palace is one of the largest and most renowned museums in the Italian town. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people from across the world travel to Florence to visit the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery.  (Photo right: The last Judgment - detail - by Hans Memling)                                                                                                     Both museums host exhibitions created by Dutchmen. At the Uffizi, the exhibition focuses on old Dutch and Flemish masters, at the Pitti, it's all about paintings. Professor Bert W. Meijer, art historian and co-creator of the two exhibitions explains:

"Many Dutch painters travelled to Italy to work there, and many Dutch works of art ended up in Italian hands because they were bought in the Netherlands by Florentine bankers".

Anniversary
The exhibitions were prompted by NIKI's 50th anniversary. The institute was established in Florence in 1958 to give Dutch art historians a chance to study the town and its countless works of art. Since then, NIKI has built a unique library of photographs, which attracts people of all nationalities who regularly travel to Florence or work there. The institute has special ties with universities and museums across Italy. Its excellent reputation prompted the invitation to Professor Meijer to assist in the creation of the two exhibitions.

                 (Photo above: The card players by Lucas van Leyden)

Palace
At the Uffizi, the old palace in the city centre just north of the river Arno, visitors can admire drawings from the museum's collection. The works show a variety of styles and themes: religious, landscapes, battle scenes and scenes from daily life. They were made between the end of the 15th century until late in the 18th century, by major Dutch and Flemish artists: Lucas van Leiden, Anthonie van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens and many others. Professor Meijer says:

"We have selected the best works from a collection of around 1,000.Unique collection of work
You can reach the Palazzo Pitti by crossing the famous Ponte Vecchio across the Arno. The dozens of paintings at the Pitti's Galleria Palatina date from a limited timeframe: between 1430 and 1530. Bert Meijer says it is a unique collection of works, for which paintings were borrowed from various countries. The works even include triptychs, which are forming a whole again for the first time in centuries.
"For the first time in history, we are showing a panorama of the period's relations between Florence and the Netherlands. It was a time when both schools belonged to the top of European art. An important crosspollination occurred in that period, primarily north to south."

Dutch influence
The exhibition proves that Italian masters copied images and themes from Dutch and Flemish paintings. The compositions, colours and symbols used by northern painters are also used by the Italians. Including the occasional Dutch stepped-gable. (Photo left: Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy by Rogier van der Weyden)

"Many people believe that the Italians were ahead of Dutch artists, but this is a prejudice. This exhibition is proof of that."

As an art historian Bert Meijer is mainly interested in telling the story. However, there's nothing wrong with appreciating a painting for it's beauty alone:

"It's what we aimed for, of course, to create something fantastically beautiful; something unique which will not be repeated any time soon."

In addition to the exhibitions at the Pitti and the Uffizi, there are also exhibitions of modern art from the Netherlands, including photography, dance, theatre and music, all of the above under the heading: Festival Olandiamo?

The exhibition at the Palazzo Pitti runs until 26 October 2008, the exhibition at the Uffizi until 2 September 2008. Click here to visit the Italian exhibition website.

*RNW translation (gsh)

28 June 2008

[Copyright Radio Netherlands]