The Italian Renaissance in the Rothschild Collection at the Musée du Louvre

curated by Catherine Loisel and Pascal Torres

Florence, Casa Buonarroti, 27 May-14 September 2009



Studies carried out by the Département des Arts Graphiques at the Musée du Louvre on the vast graphics collection (about three thousand drawings and thirty thousand engravings) donated by Edmond de Rothschild to the Louvre in the 1930s has led to the identification of a remarkable number of works by Italian Renaissance masters. For many years now, Fondazione Casa Buonarroti and the Département des Arts Graphiques have had excellent scientific relations, and this has led to an agreement between the two institutions, with the result that the Museo della Casa Buonarroti is now putting on an exhibition of the highest level, with over ninety items, almost none of which have been shown previously.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a scientific catalogue drafted by the curators of the exhibition, Catherine Loisel, curator in chief in the Département des Arts Graphiques, and Pascal Torres, director of the Rothschild Collection in the Louvre.
A particularly enchanting introduction to the exhibition will be given by a group of twenty-one International Gothic drawings of stunning elegance, which will all be visible from both sides. On the front, there are fabulous images of ancient castles, and on the back architectural and figure drawings of the finest draughtsmanship. The various subjects include an Angel Defeating Vices, a Saint George and the Dragon, a Crucifixion with God the Father and Mary Magdalene, and an Architecture with Peacock and Birds in Flight.
These are followed by nine niello works by famous artists; the we find the main section of the exhibition, which consists of about sixty-five sheets, with masterpieces by Pisanello, Jacopo Salimbeni, Leonardo, Raphael, Fra Bartolomeo, Benozzo Gozzoli, Maso Finiguerra, Niccolò dell'Abate, Perin del Vaga, Battista Franco, Cavalier d'Arpino, and other great names from Quattrocento and Cinquecento Italian art.
The event is made even more significant by the fact that it is the first exhibition to be organised by the Musée du Louvre in Italy, with all the works coming from its own collections.

The exhibition is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the City of Florence, and has been made possible by the decisive contribution of the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and of the Seattle Art Museum.
Thanks are also due to Boehringer Ingelheim for its generous support for the exhibition.

Baron and Baroness Rothschild will be present at the opening.

Information
title: Drawings from the Louvre
place: Casa Buonarroti, via Ghibellina 70, Florence
meeting with the press: 26 May, 12 noon
opening: 26 may, 6 p.m.
duration: 27 May - 14 September 2009
tickets: full € 6.50, reduced € 4.50, schools € 2.25
opening hours: 9.30 a.m. - 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays
Out of hours openings for groups, upon reservation

information at the exhibition
tel. +39 055 241752 fax +39 055 241698
fond@casabuonarroti.it
www.casabuonarroti.it

Press Office
Susanna Holm, Sigma C.S.C
tel. +39 055 2340742 fax +39 055 244145
cscsigma@cscsigma.it