Etruschi del Novecento
Mart, Rovereto
December 6, 2024 - March 16, 2025
The exhibition Etruschi del Novecento (20th Century Etruscans), a product of the unique collaboration between the Mart and the Fondazione Luigi Rovati in Milan, illustrates the impact of Etruscan civilisation on 20th-century visual culture at several points: from archaeological excavations and Etruscan tours organised around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, through to Mario Schifano ‘s Chimera, completed in 1985 or the opening of the so-called Year of the Etruscans .
The impact of remarkable discoveries, like that of the Apollo of Veio— a large painted terracotta sculpture unearthed in 1916 and now residing in the Museo di Villa Giulia in Rome—resulted in the spread of numerous studies and publications, as well as a resurgence of styles, forms, themes, and materials.
The archaic smile, the fantastic animals, life and death, the cult of the mysterious people enthralled contemporary audiences, who were intrigued by the synthetic and ‘primitive’ style.
During the second half of the 20th century, two famous exhibitions broadened the phenomenon’s international reach, engaging artists of the calibre of Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol or film directors such as Alfred Hitchcock.
These were the Exhibition of Etruscan Art and Civilisation, curated by Luciano Baldessari at the Palazzo Reale in Milan in 1955, and Civilisation of the Etruscans, organised in 1985 as part of the varied Etruscan Project that the city of Florence and the Region of Tuscany dedicated to what was called the Year of the Etruscans.
Today, for the first time, Mart and Fondazione Rovati unveil a thorough examination of the complex and extensive phenomenon of the 20th-century rediscovery of Etruscan civilisation. This initiative is carried out through a project in two distinct yet complementary phases, curated by anunmatched and extraordinary team. After the Mart, the second exhibition will be held at the Fondazione Rovati Milan from 2 April 2025 to 3 August 2025.
Alongside archaeological discoveries and valuable documents, nearly 200 pieces are showcased at the Mart, featuring artists such as Massimo Campigli, Marino Marini, Arturo Martini, Alberto and Diego Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Gio Ponti, Mario Schifano, and Gino Severini.
Etruschi del Novecento is also a catalogue, published by Johan & Levi Editore containing essays by the editors and the curator, as well as texts by notable scholars such as Matteo Ballarin, Fabio Belloni, Martina Corgnati, Alessandro Del Puppo, Maurizio Harari, Claudio Giorgione, Mauro Pratesi and Nico Stringa.
The exhibition opened on saturday december 6 2024, will be visiatble until march 16 2025
