Curator Talk: “Wealth and Beauty: Pier Francesco Foschi and Painting in Renaissance Florence”

Nelda Damiano, Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, will give a gallery talk in “Wealth and Beauty: Pier Francesco Foschi and Painting in Renaissance Florence.” This is the first exhibition dedicated to Foschi (1502 – 1567), a highly prolific and fashionable Florentine painter whose career spanned nearly five decades. Despite his success among the contemporary public, he fell into nearly complete obscurity after his death. The exhibition offers a timely and critical reevaluation of this versatile and innovative Renaissance master with exceptional works of art from world-renowned museums including the Gallerie degli Uffizi (Florence), the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid) and the Royal Collection Trust (London) that have never been presented in the United States.

“Wealth and Beauty” will feature paintings and drawings by Foschi and his contemporaries, along with decorative arts objects that provide insight into the world of wealthy 16th-century Florentines. Born in Florence to a family of painters (his father was a member of Botticelli’s workshop), Foschi trained with Andrea del Sarto, one of the most influential artists of the Renaissance. He received commissions from numerous prominent families of Florence, including the Medici, Pucci and Torrigiani. His assignments included small devotional images and large church altarpieces and frescoes, but he is best known today for his portraits. In his own lifetime he became one of the most sought-after portraitists in his city, celebrated for his ability to convey the gravitas of his subjects and represent the objects that connoted their social and economic status.

This is an in-person event at the museum. Please register for free tickets, either on our website before you show up or at the desk in the lobby when you arrive. If you do the former, check in at the desk when you come for your tour or any other drop-in program so that we can send you a survey for your feedback and have a way to get in touch with you should contact tracing be required. We are still encouraging masks and giving your fellow visitors some space inside the building.