Picasso at Palazzo Strozzi – Picasso nel Palazzo Strozzi

Palazzo Strozzi – Picasso and Spanish Modernity – September 20, 2014 

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The Palazzo Strozzi has a long and storied history in Florence and before describing its current incarnation, let me tell you a bit about its origins.

Palazzo Strozzi, exterior
Palazzo Strozzi, exterior
Palazzo Strozzi, interior courtyard
Palazzo Strozzi, interior courtyard

Palazzo Strozzi has been described as the grandest palace in Florence.  Fillipo Strozzi had been exiled from Florence in 1466 by his rivals, the Medici.  Unpon his return in 1489, he commissioned a palazzo intended to proclaim the importance of the family and their position in Florentine society.  Its granduer far surpasses the Palazzo Medici-Recardi where the Medici resided at the time.  However, the Palazzo went unfinished until 1538 because the politically more powerful Medici once again exiled the Strozzi family from the city in 1491for another 30 years.

The Strozzi family retained ownership of the Palazzo until 1937.  The building was occupied for a time by the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni.  They ceded it to the Italian State in 1999 and it is today managed by the City of Florence as a temporary exhibition space under the auspice of the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation.

The Palazzo Strozzi Foundation was founded in July 2006.  Aspects of its mission include bringing an international approach to making culture in Florence, providing a platform for experimentation and creating new synergies with other cultural.

To that end, the Palazzo Strozzi will open a new exhibition on September 20 of the works of Pablo Picasso

Seated Woman Resting on Elbows, Pablo Picasso
Seated Woman Resting on Elbows, Pablo Picasso

and other modernist artists, Joan Miro

Siurana, the Path Joan Miro
Siurana, the Path
Joan Miro

Salvador Dali

Harlequin, Salvador Dali
Harlequin, Salvador Dali

and others who were influenced by Picasso.  The 90 paintings in the exhibit are on loan from the collection housed at el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.

This promises to be, yet another, not to be missed, Palazzo Strozzi extravaganza!!