Light of Florence 2020
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Chapter 01 Light of Florence Florence and its light 4 Dialogue with Antonio Natali 12 Curator and art historian Dialogue with Felice Limosani 16 Multidisciplinary artist Dialogue with Massimo Iarussi 20 Lighting designer 03 Art in the spotlight 24 Lighting museums The relationship between Art and Light 27 Exhibition spaces today 30 CASE HISTORIES Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture, Florence 50 MEF Museo Ettore Fico, Turin 62 Lighting places Of W°rship Light as the first creative act 73 The church as a place of prayer 76 Flexible light: control systems 78 CASE HISTORIES The Cathedral of...

Living and working in Florence deeply influences our approach to the world of Art and the way to illuminate it; it is part of our DNA, our nature.

Light in Florence is a product of its own ground and the way it interacts with natural light both on rainy and sunny days, when sunsets set fire to the facades of its palaces.

The golden brown “pietra forte” sandstone similar to tobacco, strongly characterises the colour scheme of the city. This sandstone extracted from Boboli hill in the centre of the city was used in the 1300 and 1400 to build bridges and the most important palaces in Florence (Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo del Bargello, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi and Palazzo Strozzi). The romantic and gothic period gave way to white, green and red marble inlays typical of some of the facades of Florentine churches, while during the Renaissance period white plaster became a fundamental element to enhance...

SPIRITUAL GUARDS - JAN FABRE TEMPORARY EXPOSITION 2016 - FLORENCE, ITALY COURTESY OF © ANGELOS BVBA

Dialogues with Antonio Natali Felice Limosani Massimo larussi

The enhancement of the artistic and cultural heritage by means of light is a complex subject that requires a multidisciplinary approach and the involvement of very different competences working with a common goal: to create the ideal experience for the enjoyment of art. We have collected the testimonies of professionals with international reputation who live in Florence and work daily in this field. Together with their “illuminated sight”, experience and sensitivity they have shared with us their intimate relationship with the light-art pairing.

Antonio Natali Curator and art historian Art historian, Director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence from 2006 to 2015, he was the first Director of the Centre for Renaissance, Mannerism and Contemporary Art Studies at the same Museum. From 2000 to 2010 he taught Museology at the University of Perugia. Author of books on painting and sculpture from the XV and XVI century and monographs on Michelozzo and Andrea del Sarto. He has curated many important art exhibitions such as “Il Cinquecento a Firenze” in Palazzo Strozzi between 2017 and 2018, where he brought together works of art by artists...

painted the two works. In my opinion a figurative work of art is poetry expressed in a figurative way instead of in words and poetry is appreciated not only for the language but also (I would say to above all) for its content; it is the content that pulls at the heartstrings. Q. How has the way of exhibiting works of art | changed over the years? AN. I think the relationship between people and works of art has changed. I often use the example of the room with the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. I show a picture of a day when the museum is closed, I show a normal day when it is open with the room...

AN. Museums are places of education and this defini tion could make us think (in this incoherent time) of a dusty place. Obviously in the digital era we cannot do without teaching in line with the times but works of art must be exhibited in the best way and in a place that allows for suitable appreciation and “enjoyment”. Giuseppe Pelli Bencivenni, Director of the Uffizi in the 18th century used to say something like this: “Young people should come to the Uffizi to learn and understand beauty because then they will know how to recognise it in every moment of life”. Recognising beauty is not...

Q. You were the first person to introduce colour into exhibitions at the Uffizi, why did you do it? How does the background colour interact with the works on display and light? AN. As I have already said museums are educational institutions and my choice to use colour was functional to this purpose. When I arrived in 1981 all rooms were white, around forty of them. I believe that white is the colour of intellectual abstraction but having extended the Uffizi to 100 rooms white had become too intrusive; the Uffizi risked appearing like a hospital more than a museum. I then thought about...

Felice Limosani Multidisciplinary artist Self-taught. He started his professional career as a DJ. Today he lives and works in Florence with the idea of merging technology and humanities to remove the boundaries between art, design, culture, communication experience and entertainment. All languages that are intrinsically connected, that influence and interact with each other. He is internationally recognised with works ranging from artistic installations to the creation of immersive environments (both physical and virtual) right up to curating experiential exhibitions. His commissions have...

perception of a work of art. Natural or artificial, direct or reflected, light does not invade but caresses and gives life and poetry to things. It cannot be touched but it exists, it is insubstantial but provides substance. Think of Michelangelo’s sculpture, think of works by Caravaggio and the extraordinary light that animates them. I had the privilege of providing a new dynamic light for David by Michelangelo, every shape in its sculptural posture changed in dimension and perception. Its beauty manifested itself in an unexpected and dynamic way that had never been seen before. If...

Q. One of your most famous installations expres sing the link between art and communication was “Fabric is Art”, at the Galleria dell’Accade-mia in Florence for a well-known woollen mill from Tuscany where you “dressed” David by Michelangelo with fabrics of light. What is your approach when your creativity is so closely connected to historical and artistic heritage? FL. It is not easy to establish a connection between modern forms of expression with cultural heritage above all when it involves a symbolic sculpture like David by Michelangelo. It takes humility, sobriety and always talking a...