Cortona Fine Art is proud to mark its fifty years of activity by participating at the International Biennial of Antiques in Florence (BIAF) at Palazzo Corsini from 24 September to 2 October 2022.
It is the first time that the gallery will take part in such a prestigious Italian art fair. And to mark the special occasion, Cortona Fine Art will hold an exhibition Bellezza & Bizzarrie which will be accompanied by a catalogue, edited by Luca G. Baroni, with essays and new research by some of the most preeminent historians of Italian art.
Bellezza & Bizzarria promises to gather an eclectic and peculiar mix of old master drawings, paintings, sculptures and objects from around the world.
Drawings include works by Tanzio da Varallo, Pier Francesco Mola, and Baldassarre Franceschini. An unpublished sheet by Lorenzo de’ Ferrari traces the decoration of the Galleria d'Oro of Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi (Genoa). A Pulcinella by Giambattista Tiepolo from his Volume terzo delle caricature, is followed by a large watercolour by Michele Sangiorgi depicting Virtues crown the bust of Antonio Canova – a fitting homage to the bicentenary of the sculptor's death. And an early 16th century engraving from a lost painting by Arcimboldo will be presented.
The paintings, on the other hand, have been selected for their modest sizes and their beautifully executed depictions of children or female figures. A Holy Family by Antonio Viviani from Urbino, a group of Putti and triton, an early work by Giovan Battista Salvi, il Sassoferrato, and then again Felice Giani, Pelagio Palagi and Giuseppe Bernardino Bison. The paintings are dominated by an exceptional Repentent Magdalene by Giulio Cesare Procaccini.
Sculpture aficionados will also not be disappointed. Three exceptional pieces by Giacomo Piazzetta, Giovanni Bonazza and Andrea Brustolon evoke the best of Venetian sculpting and modelling between the 17th and the 18th century.
The multiplicity of shapes, subjects and uses is finally reflected in three objects that complete this ideal Wunderkammer: a Venetian plate, a Franco-Flemish travel writing box made of exotic woods, and a South-East Asian armchair decorated with dragons.
Biennale Internazionale di Antichità di Firenze
24 September- 2 October 2022
Palazzo Corsini
Via del Parione, 11
50123 Firenze, Italy