31st January - 25th May 2009
Place
Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex, Palazzo Squarcialupi - Piazza Duomo 2 - Siena
Hours
Every day from 10.30 am to 7.30 pm
Descriptions
Van Gogh, Kirchner, Munch but also Ernst, Dix, Grosz, Guttuso, Mafai, Ligabue are only some of the artists which can be admired in “Art, Genius, Insanity. The artist’s night and day”. The exhibition – which will be held in Siena from 31st January to 25th May 2009 at the Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex – was born from an idea by Vittorio Sgarbi in collaboration with the Antonio Mazzotta Foundation and is promoted by the City of Siena and the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation, with the organization of Vernice Progetti Culturali and Santa Maria della Scala Museum. The catalogue is edited by the Antonio Mazzotta Foundation which also organized the general scientific coordination of the exhibition.
"Art, Genius and Insanity. The artist’s night and day" represents the first attempt in Italy to investigate the relationship between artistic production and mental unstableness in an itinerary which crosses fundamental moments in art history. Over 300 works amongst paintings and sculptures, some of which are of great emotional impact, show the complex relationship between art and insanity, giving life to an exhibition itinerary divided into 8 different sections, entrusted to important names within the field of art and psychiatry. The intention is to investigate the artists’ “being in this world” through their masterpieces, without however renouncing the fundamental historic perspective and all those contributions which have studied “art, genius and insanity” from different points of view, whether they are of an artistic, scientific or medical nature.
Displayed are the works of the protagonists of modern and contemporary art, coming from the most important museums in Europe: from the “Museo d’Orsay, to the “Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou” in Paris, to the “Museo del Prado” in Madrid, from the “Kirchner Museum” in Davos to the “Musée de Beaux-Arts” in Lille, from the “Sammlung Prinzhorn” in Heidelberg to the “Collection de l’Art Brut” in Lausanne. There are also various Italian museums, such as: the “Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna” in Roma, the “Pinacoteca” in Brera and the “Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense” in Milan, the “Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna – Cà Pesaro” in Venice and the “Museo Marino Marini” in Florence. Some of the major Italian psychiatric centres are taking part in this exhibition project: the “Museo del Manicomio di San Servolo” in Venice, the “Centro di Documentazione di Storia della Psichiatria ‘San Lazzaro’” in Reggio Emilia, the “Museo Lombroso” in Turin but also the “Museo di Storia della Medicina” of the University of Rome “La Speranza”. Also involved are the “Museo di Anatomia Umana ‘Luigi Rolando’” of the University of Turin, the “Museo di Antropologia” of the University of Padua and the “Museo Anatomico ‘Leonetto Comparini’” of the University of Siena, together with other European centres such as the “Musée de l’Assistance Publique”, the “Biblioteca Universitaria” and the “Musée d’Historie de la Medicine René Descartes” in Paris.
Amongst the masterpieces displayed are the famous “Hôpital Saint-Paul à Saint-Rémy-de-Provence” by Vincent Van Gogh coming from the “Musée d’Orsay” in Paris, the “Portrait of Erna” by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, “And new life will arise from the ruins” by Otto Dix, “Peace I” by Gorge Grosz, “Self-portrait with red scarf” by Antonio Ligabue. Amongst the works attributed to Hieronymous Bosch there is “Le concert dan l’oeuf”, 16th cent., coming from the “Musée de Beaux-Arts” in Lille, next to a Flemish painting of the same period of large dimensions dedicated to The Temptations of Saint Anthony. Another protagonist of the exhibition is Max Ernst, sided with other surrealists such as André Masson and Victor Brauner. Amongst other works by Ernst, even “L’ermaphrodite” and “La Verre” are exposed. Coming from the “Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna” is the “Trionfo della morte” by Renato Guttuso, exposed together with some of the masterpieces by Mario Mafai belonging to the Fantasy cycle.
The gallery with nine life-sized busts with bizarre and exasperated facial expressions are of great impact: they are the faces by Messerschmidt. The section where drawing as a primary form of the expression of the unconscious is dealt with through the works by Henri Michaux is very evocative, great part of which were done under the effect of mescaline. Integral part of the exhibition is, lastly, the vast anthology of the Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg organized by Giorgio Bedoni and the section organized by Lucienne Peiry dedicated to the “Art Brut” Collection in Lausanne.
Art, Genuis, Insanity. The artist’s night and day is open every day, including holidays, from 10.30am to 7.30pm (www.artegeniofollia.it). The exhibition is linked to a visit to the psychiatric hospital San Niccolò, open every day, from 10.00am to 5.00pm only upon booking by phone. The hour-long itinerary, with the entrance from Porta Romana, shows the visitor the articulation of the “open-pavilion village” of the ex-mental hospital and ends at the ex-agricultural farm Orto de’Pecci a few steps away from Piazza del Campo. The history of the psychiatric hospital San Niccolò with its activities, its spaces, its patients and its staff is documented in a volume edited by Mazzotta. With the ticket of the exhibition it will also be possible to visit the exhibition “Freud’s Magnifying Glass. A gallery into the unconscious” organised by Giorgio Bedoni, open every day and at the same time of the Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex. With the ticket of the exhibition it will also be possible to visit the exhibition “Freud’s Magnifying Glass. A gallery into the unconscious” organized by Giorgio Bedoni.
Press Office:
Agenzia Freelance for Vernice Progetti Culturali
Sonia Corsi - 3351979765
Natascia Maesi - 3351979414
ufficiostampa@verniceprogetti.it
Tel. 0577 272123 - Fax 0577 247753
Press Office:
Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta
Alessandra Pozzi
ufficiostampa@mazzotta.it
Tel. 02.8055803/8690050
Wheelchairs
Yes
Extras
guided tours, audio guides, didactic activities, publications (catalogue by Edizioni Antonio Mazzotta), bookshop, refreshment point
Information
General organization: Santa Maria della Scala Museum, Tel.: 0577 224811/35 - Fax.: 0577 224829 Vernice Progetti Culturali srl. Tel.: 0577 226406 - Fax.: 0577 237659
WebSite
www.artegeniofollia.it
www.santamariadellascala.com
www.verniceprogetti.it
E-mail
info@sms.comune.siena.it
info@verniceprogetti.it
