The “bread of the Uffizi” on display among the Sassi of Matera. The exhibition Bread and the Stones – The ancient theme of bread in a selection of works from the Uffizi Galleries sees, for the first time, the Uffizi on the move in the city European Capital of Culture 2019.
The exhibition, curated by Maria Anna Di Pede and Maria Matilde Simari, is organized and promoted by the Uffizi Galleries and the Sassi di Matera Foundation.
And it is in the exhibition spaces of the Sassi Foundation, in the Sasso Barisano, that the story of the ancient theme of bread in a selection of paintings from the Gallery is set up. The exhibition will be open to the public from 10 October 2019 until 10 January 2020.
Each of the four sections offers a series of works that highlight the historical, symbolic and religious value of bread through scenes of sacred subjects and everyday life, still lifes and landscapes dedicated to wheat and its processing.
Food for the body, but also nourishment for the soul, bread has strongly characterized the culture and history of Matera and, together with the Sassi, has become the city's identifying element.
On display are many works that recall episodes from the Old and New Testaments: bread is offered together with wine to Abraham by Melchizedek (Genesis 14,18:16), it falls from the sky in the form of manna (Exodus 1:35-6), it is multiplied by Jesus together with fish on the shores of the "Sea of Galilee" (John 11:14-22), it is present on the table of the Last Supper (Luke 19:24) on display depicted by Sister Teresa Berenice as well as on the table of Emmaus (Luke 30:XNUMX) painted in the sketch by Cristofano Allori.
Bread, the symbol par excellence of the Christian Eucharistic rite and an emblem of fertility for ancient civilizations, has also been the favorite subject for allegories and convivial scenes.
Of direct Caravaggio descent is the Still Life on display in the exhibition, attributed to the great Spanish painter Diego Velasquez, which displays an optical lucidity, a sense of light and more than one analogy with Caravaggio's work The Supper at Emmaus of 1602, now preserved in the National Gallery in London.
Another Spanish painting, exhibited in Matera, repeats, after more than forty years, the themes and symbols conceived by Caravaggio. It is the Still Life by Francisco Barrera, a painter specialized in the 'bodegón' genre.
Also worthy of note is an intriguing painting on copper with a grotesque Snail Man as the peasant is called, literally covered in horns and forked symbols. But a true piece of daily life from the seventeenth century narrated with careful and poetic tones – among the works exhibited in the exhibition organized in the Sassi – can be found in the painting with the view of a Mill by Filippo Napoletano thanks to which one can observe the daily work of the men engaged in transporting sacks of flour, the domestic life implied within the walls of the farmhouse, the truth of an inhabited and lived place.
The director of the Uffizi Galleries, Eike Schmidt: “This exhibition continues the Uffizi’s commitment to extending its cultural boundaries and actively engaging in dialogue with the territory. After exhibitions abroad, in the US in Cleveland and in Russia in Vladivostok and those in Tuscany, for the first time we will exhibit a selection of works in an Uffizi exhibition in Matera. It is a unique opportunity for art lovers to admire the original beauty of these works that tell the story of a symbolic food in the city that is the European Capital of Culture 2019. Being able to do so in a context like this, among the Sassi, acquires a unique value”.
The President of the Sassi Foundation, Vincenzo Santochirico: “The immensity and universality of the Galleries' masterpieces intersect with the thousand-year history of the European Capital of Culture 2019, confirming that the history of bread is a great story, rich in wisdom and poetry, art and faith, which embraces the entire history of humanity. We are proud and honoured to be the first in Italy to host an exhibition of the Uffizi Galleries outside of Tuscany. The cooperation between the Sassi Foundation and the Uffizi Galleries also constitutes an indication of method for the years to come: the network between cultural institutions, the comparison with other experiences, the openness to national and international exchanges and collaborations are essential to preserve, consolidate and develop the role conquered by the city of the Sassi for 2019”.
Information:
The exhibition is organized and promoted by the Uffizi Galleries and the Sassi Foundation, the inauguration is scheduled for Wednesday 9 October 2019 at 18,30 pm in the Conference Room of the Sassi Foundation
in via San Giovanni Vecchio – Sasso Barisano district of Matera.
Open to the public: from 10 October 2019 to 10 January 2020
Closing day: Monday. Opening hours: 10:00 – 13:00 and 16:00 – 20:00
Tickets: €5,00 full; €3,00 residents of Basilicata; €3,00 reduced under 18; €3,00 students.
FREE: under 6, disabled people with companion; journalists with valid ODG card; tourist guides with qualification card; Superintendency employees
Presale: https://www.liveticket.it/evento.aspx?Id=258292
Curators: Maria Anna Di Pede and Maria Matilde Simari
Artists: Francesco Albani, Cristofano Allori, Francisco Barrera, Leandro Bassano, Francesco Bassano and workshop, Fabrizio Boschi, Filippo Napoletano, Luisa Maria Vitelli Sister Teresa Berenice, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez and workshop, Doria Santilli, Jan Steen, Arturo Tosi, Ferrante Zambini.
Scientific Committee: Maria Anna Di Pede, Gioia Romagnoli, Maria Matilde Simari
Lenders: Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi, Palatine Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art.
With the support of: Bawer spa, Matera Hotel MH, Italcementi spa, Tecnoparco Vba spa, Cassa di Risparmio di Calabria e di Lucania Foundation.
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