Tokyo – Italian Institute of Culture holds symposium on Botticelli

The Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo will hold a symposium on Botticelli on January 16, chiming with the launch of the “Botticelli and His Time” exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. Leading Italian and Japanese experts attendin the symposium will include Osano Shigetoshi of Tokyo University, Alessandro Cecci, art historian and former director of the Galleria Palatina in Rome, Cristina Acidini, art historian and former head of the State Museums of Florence, and Jonathan Nelson of Harvard University, Deputy Director of Villa I Tatti. Ms Acidini will discuss Botticelli and the two branches of the Medici family in the first part, followed by Mr. Shigetoshi on the reception of the Florentine School in Japan, with particular reference to Botticelli. Mr Cecchi will then address Botticelli’s family life, while Mr Nelson will discuss his role as illustrator to Dante and Petrarch. The speakers will take questions from the public during a round table, for which an Italian-Japanese translation will be provided. The exhibition on Botticelli at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art will run until April 3, 2016.