Florence, with the patronage of the Italy-Japan Foundation, is celebrating Japanese art and culture. In Palazzo Pitti, the Florentine palace that as far back as 1585 hosted the first Japanese ambassadors to arrive in Italy, 3 exhibitions have opened in the most prestigious of its museum spaces. The shows will run until 1 July 2012.
The Museo degli Argenti (Silver Museum) is the setting for “Of line and Colour. Japan, its arts and its encounter with the West”, dedicated to Japanese art from the mid-16th to mid 19th centuries.
In the Palatine Gallery (Sala Bianca), “The Elegance of Memory. The decorative arts of modern Japan” showcases the best of modern and contemporary Japanese art, from the 19th century until our own day.
The Gallery of Modern Art (Sala del Fiorino) hosts an exhibition focusing on Japan’s influence on Western art. “Japonisme. The spell of the East, from the ‘Macchiaioli’ to the 1930s” displays works produced from the 1870s to the 1940s by key figures in Italian art, such as Fattori, Signorini and De Nittis, whose work clearly shows the influence of Japan.
