Italy's favourite son, finally moving out - The Florentine

16
Thursday 7 September 2006
The ARTS
Life in Italy
www.theflorentine.net
Hills and heavens of Mugello
Art exhibit showcases international student exchange
By Laura Robertson
‘Many a dream has been disclosed this summer! Morning conversations
are about painting, against the backdrop of Rilke’s letters on
Cézanne as lunch is eaten in the shade, sheltered from the burning
rays of the sun. The sweltering heat seeping through the walls of the
old Tabaccaia is an unwelcome visitor; it’s much better to be outside,
painting in the fields, in the woods or by the lake.’
Prof. Adriano Bimbi on the Mugello Project
Riccardo Nencini, ‘the 2006 Project
highlights a successful commitment
that will indeed help many young
people build their own identity. It will
also help our population to appreciate
the educational values that are
born from the history of our territory.
Our present reality is deeplyrooted
in these values, together with
the conflicts and yearnings to which
we often find ourselves prey. The
ultimate goal is to resolve conflicts
by means of peace and art.’
Not a bad goal for an artist. After
all, a lot can be achieved by means
of a canvas. ‘Peace and art born in
the hills of the Mugello’...that’s just
another way to say ‘enchantment.’
Take ageless landscape. Mix it
with youth and international
curiosity. Add study and reflection
along with generous doses of
courage, colour and vibrant creativity.
Ask a 600-year-old artist-monk
to take the project under his wing
and a creative professor to uphold
its excellence. Spark the interest and
patronage of educational and governmental
institutions, both locally
and abroad. And then paint, paint,
paint your heart out.
Such was the recipe for success
for the young talented artists working
alongside Accademia Professor
Adriano Bimbi this summer, in an
effort to create this year’s muchawaited
Mugello exhibition. The
program opened five years ago with
the theme ‘The Man on the Cross’
(inspired by Donatello’s remarkable
wooden crucifix), and has consistently
proved to be an inspiring
annual event, both culturally and
artistically. The 2005 exhibit, built on
the theme ‘In the Valley of the Masters’
went on display for the first time
in both Italy and New York at Pace
University. Gladly, the same is true
for this year’s exhibition, product of
the first edition of a new exchange
program, wherein Pace University
students joined Professor Bimbi and
his students for one month of Tuscan
painting. In October 2006, the
University in New York will host
Accademia students on the occasion
of the overseas portion of the event.
The Tuscan inauguration will
take place at 5pm on Sept. 23 at the
Convento di Bosco ai Frati, the Castello
di Cafaggiolo, and the house of
Giotto in Vicchio. It will continue
to be on display until Oct. 8, 2006.
Then it’s time to cross the ocean for
New York’s part of the bargain. Pace
University’s Michael Schimmel Center
for the Arts will host the exhibition;
expect inauguration at 5 pm on
Oct. 26. The show continues until
Nov. 15.
The theme this year? Well, let’s
just say that the young artists are
shooting for heaven. They’ve paid
homage to the hills, the Mugello
skies and the artist who believed
that a painter’s hand is guided by
God. The exhibit’s muse is no less
than Guido di Pietro, known to artlovers
as Fra’ Giovanni da Fiesole, or
Beato Angelico.
Hills and Heavens of the Mugello:
the Angels of Beato Angelico. ‘That’s
the theme this year,’ Professor Bimbi
explained. ‘We strongly believe that
the subject of the landscape in the
Mugello calls for further, in-depth
examination; the subtitle is an indication
that our approach will be
completely free of the “naturalistic”
iconography traditional in landscape
studies. The purpose of this year’s
studies is to elicit and emphasize the
sacredness of the landscape in the
Mugello through painting.’ Prof. Adriano
Bimbi continued, ‘We spent time
here with young artists – the angels
– who are neither good nor evil, who
are free from any mortal sin, who are
pure. We’ve been here with the spirit
of Fra Angelico, a monk and an artist,
who was born nearby over six centuries
ago. We’ve come, as always, to
learn from his supreme lesson: painting
is the mirror of a soul in constant
search for the holiness of things and
of humanity.’
The result of such soul-searching
is a two-part exhibition hosted on
both sides of the Atlantic. The Italian
exhibition includes a series of
approximately 90 paintings of various
sizes and media (primarily oil,
but also acrylic and mixed media); 40
drawings, several of which served as
background work for the creation of
the paintings, and other independent
pieces. The young artists employed
various techniques including pastel
and watercolour and experimented
with both ink and charcoal, many of
which were created with natural pigments
- clays and natural vegetable
pigments. The New York exhibition
will host about 25 paintings and 35
drawings, selected from the total
number of works showcased in the
Mugello exhibitions.
Many people have made this program
possible. The project’s academic
partners, the Accademia di Belle Arti
di Firenze and Pace University, New
York, have teamed up with various
municipalities and institutional partners.
In addition to the Province of
Florence and the Region of Tuscany,
sponsors include the municipalities
of San Piero a Sieve, Barberino di
Mugello, Vicchio, and the Comunità
Montana del Mugello. The Tuscan
American Association has also been
deeply involved in supporting this
art-study program and has played
an essential role in initiating the
inter-cultural aspect of the Mugello
project, by organizing the Mugello-
Pace exhibit in 2005. It has since
been responsible for coordinating
the entire US-Italy exchange portion
of Bimbi’s project, creating its first
complete international exchange
in 2006—an event now destined to
become an annual occurrence.
‘All in all,’ says President of the
Consiglio Regionale della Toscana,
For more information about The hills
For more information about
and heavens of the Mugello—the
The hills and heavens of the
Mugello—the
Angels of Beato Angelico Angels
contact:
of Beato
Angelico contact:
Lynn Wiechmann, co-president
Tuscan American Association
lynn.wiechmann@iol.it
Elisabetta Boni
Comune di S. Piero a Sieve
055- 848-7536
urp@comune.san-piero-a-sieve.fi.it