Art lovers, take note: you don’t want to miss the following major exhibitions of 2018! (We have decided to select the ones dedicated to Italian artists, but just so you're aware, there are more great ones featuring foreign artists as well, such as Picasso, Rodin and more.)
- “L’eterno e il tempo tra Michelangelo e Caravaggio.” (Eternity and Time between Michelangelo and Caravaggio.) Musei San Domenico, Forlì, from Feb. 10 to June 17, 2018
This exhibit documents what was one of the most important and fascinating periods in Western history, the time between the Sack of Rome (1527) and Caravaggio’s death (1610), between the start of the Protestant Reformation (1517-1520) and the Council of Trent (1545-1563), between Michelangelo’s Last Judgement (1541) and Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius (the first scientific work based on observations made through a telescope, 1610) – events and works that signaled the beginning of modern times in the Western world.
- “Raffaello e l’eco del mito.” (Raphael and the Echo of Myth.) Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, from January 27 to May 6, 2019
Raphael’s mark has continued to influence art to this day and this exhibition, featuring 60 masterworks by the Renaissance painter, celebrates his art, his life and those who inspired him, such as his father Giovanni Santi, Pintoricchio, Signorelli, Perugino. One of the highlights is the mysterious La Fornarina (baker), whose identity is not clear (maybe she was Raphael’s Roman lover, Margherita Luti), created between 1518–1520.
- “Jacopo Tintoretto, pittore veneziano.” (Jacopo Tintoretto, Venetian Painter.) Palazzo Ducale, Venice, from September 7, 2018 to January 6, 2019
This major exhibition marks the first time in 80 years that Tintoretto’s works from museums around the world (about 70) will be displayed together in his hometown. Jacopo Tintoretto was one of the major figures of the Venetian Renaissance school and the event is organized to mark the 500th anniversary of his birth, which is celebrated in 2019.
- “Il Codice Leicester di Leonardo da Vinci.” (Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester.) Uffizi Gallery, Florence, from October 29, 2018 to January 20, 2019
From the private collection of Bill Gates, Leonardo’s Leicester Codex returns to Italy for the first time in 20 years. The 72 pages of the Codex will be exhibited in the Aula Magliabechiana and, through a multimedia tool, visitors will be able to leaf through the pages, filled with notes and sketches, compiled between 1504 and 1508. This exhibition kicks off the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death, which falls in 2019.
