Jenny Saville in Museo Novecento Florence

For centuries, Florence has been a source of inspiration for artists. This is due to its rich history and extraordinary artwork. Many artists hold exhibits here.

Walking through Florence, we found the Museo Novecento. This museum is found in the ancient Spedale of the Leopoldine in Santa Maria Novella square.

We found the exhibit between the ground floor and the first floor of the museum. It was an excellent collection of paintings and sketches by Jenny Saville on display. Saville’s work spans several decades, from the early 2000s to the most recent months. This exhibition takes place in the Museo Novecento from the 30th September 2021, up until the 20th February 2022. Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento, is the developer and curator of this exhibition about Saville. It is in collaboration with four other major museums in Florence: Museo del Duomo, Museo degli Innocenti, and Museo di Casa Buonarroti.

The multi- part exhibition juxtaposes Saville’s paintings and drawings with master-works from the Italian Renaissance, including some of Michelangelo’s most famous works, to create a fascinating interaction between the present and the past. The monumentality of Saville’s paintings, which have been a defining aspect of her early career, is discussed. As well as her inquiry into the bodies and flesh of her naked subjects.

The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, part of the large complex of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, is where Saville’s passionate and compelling interaction with Michelangelo’s work and iconography reaches its peak. A giant drawing by Saville, about three metres tall, will be shown in the same room as the Bandini Pietà, one of Michelangelo’s final works. Her inspiration came from her visit to Florence two years prior.