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Events

01 Oct                     04 Oct 2015

Aby M. Warburg's Mnemosyne Picture Atlas

A symposium and exhibition

You and your friends are cordially invited to the opening on Thursday, October 1 at 8 pm

Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 2 to 6 pm and on appointment


exhibition view
photo: Giulia Del Piero

during the Symposium Aby M. Warburg's Mnemosyne Picture Atlas, Villa Romana, Florence
photo: Giulia Del Piero

group view, Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence


The Villa Romana is exhibiting 22 panels of the famous Mnemosyne picture atlas by Aby Warburg (1866-1929). The atlas, which Warburg constructed in the last years of his life and was unable to complete, is one of the centrepieces of the Hamburg-born cultural historian’s extensive work. The entire picture atlas comprises 63 panels and the main sequence is closely linked to the art of the city of Florence, where Warburg lived and researched intensively from 1897 to 1902. The atlas has never been exhibited in Florence. Panels 31 to 48 contain the condensed findings of Warburg’s research in the city. They primarily concern Botticelli and Ghirlandaio, as well as the Medici, Sassetti and Tornabuoni families, who were major benefactors of the new art of the Quattrocento.

Although the picture atlas is one of the classics of modern art history and specifically a confirmation of its most recent branch, visual culture, the atlas has never been presented in such detail or as vividly as in the programme developed by 8. Salon, which displays it in its original size, as well as with public lectures and accompanying books that give each panel a voice. It is based on a new reconstruction, as Warburg’s panels were dismantled for transport from Hamburg to London in 1933 and have not been reassembled until today. In their original size (140 x 170 cm) it is possible to identify every detail of the panels, with the result that Warburg’s intentions have been made visible (apart from a few manuscript pages there is no written commentary by Warburg himself). On three evenings, 8. Salon will present a detailed talk on the 22 panels.

Over the last three years, 8. Salon has reconstructed the atlas and decoded each individual panel in Hamburg; the results have been published in the book series Baustelle. 5 books will be newly printed for the days at the Villa Romana. Dr. Giovanna Targia will be responsible for organising the three days of research in Florence. Her doctorate was on Warburg and until 2014 she was at the Hertziana in Rome, where she studied Goethe’s work on the natural sciences. 8. Salon is represented by Philipp Schwalb, Professor Axel Heil, Christian Rothmaler and Dr. Roberto Ohrt. 8. Salon opened in Hamburg in 2010 and uses its space to promote exchange between academia (research and theory) and contemporary art (exhibitions and workshops). In the Warburg project in Florence this is immediately visible through the participation of two artists, Jochen Lempert (Hamburg) and Ines Schaber (Berlin), who will each create an artist’s panel, i.e. react to the atlas in pictorial language using the panel format.

The symposium at the Villa Romana opens up the opportunity to deepen German-Italian dialogue and expand interdisciplinary cooperation between artists and academics. Warburg is a particularly suitable choice for this as Florence and Italy became a second home to him; the Hamburg native promoted German-Italian relations throughout his life. Although the atlas has been the subject of increasing attention in both Italy and German in recent years, exchange between the two countries has been rather sporadic in this area of research. With its three-day event and the Mnemosyne panels in their original size, 8. Salon wishes to publicly promote a revival of exchange right where it all happened.


Program


Thursday, 01 October

8 pm
Exhibition opening and general introduction of the atlas


Friday, 02 October

10 - 12 am
Tour of Florentine sites of significance for Warburg and the atlas:
Uffizi Gallery, Bargello, Academia(limited number of participants

2.30 - 5.30 pm
Open discussion in front of the panels at the Villa Romana (limited number of participants)

6 - 8 pm
Public presentation of the individual panels:
From the Dutch to Botticelli (Panels 31-39), public


Saturday, 03 October

10 - 12 am
Tour of Florentine sites of significance for Warburg and the atlas:
Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinità, Ognissanti, Brancacci (limited number of participants)

2.30 pm
Open discussion in front of the panels at the Villa Romana

4.30 pm
Harald Theil (Paris), Axel Heil (Karlsruhe): Mnemosyne, Photography, the Cahiers d'Art, and Piscasso's Future Science of the Creative Man (limited number of participants)

6 - 8 pm
Public presentation of the individual panels:
Sassetti – Tornabuoni - Ghirlandaio (Panels 40-45), public


Sunday, 04 October

10 - 12 am
Tour of Florentine sites of significance for Warburg and the atlas: Cathedral and Baptistery, Villa Medici-Riccardi, Santa Croce, Villa la Gallina (limited number of participants)

2.30 - 5.30 Uhr
Open discussion in front of the panels at the Villa Romana (limited number of participants)

6 - 8 pm
Public presentation of the individual panels: Nymph - Tobias - Fortuna (Panels 46-48), public


Free entrance, please register: office@villaromana.org, Tel. +39 055 221654

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