Diafane Passioni

Exhibition catalogue, Florence, Museo degli Argenti, 16 July - 3 November 2013

The exhibition catalogue is dedicated to ivory sculpture, which was considered the greatest and most sophisticated expression of art in the 16th century. Valiant sculptors, both in Italy and in transalpine countries, and even as far afield as in the Portuguese and Spanish colonies, tried their hand at this subtle and highly challenging technique, which required great expertise and the purest raw materials. Throughout Europe emperors and grand dukes, popes and princes, high-ranking prelates and wealthy bankers contended for the work of the finest ivory sculptors, which resulted in extraordinary masterpieces collections. In terms of its size, quality and importance, the Medici collection was paralleled only by that of the imperial court in Vienna and that of the princes in Dresden

The exhibition is structured in various sections travel through 15th century ivory art to mature High Renaissance, right up to the explosion of Baroque, with works by the Flemish artists, and by Leonhard Kern, François Duquesnoy and Georg Petel, who practiced their art in Italy for many years and who took the technique of ivory carving to the highest level.

The section entitled Virtuous Geometry hosts turned ivory items, spectacular examples of a contest which pitted the most important German sculptors against one another as they vied to create increasingly complex figures in ivory, minor miracles of technical virtuosity merging symbology and numerology, geometry and philosophy.

This exceptional event gave the most remarkable scientific results, making it possible to attribute masterpieces to anonymous work, and created the opportunity to admire all these scattered artworks in one place.