For over 25 years, exhibitions on Impressionists have been increasing in popularity among visitors. However, most of these exhibitions limit themselves to presenting the artworks in a didactic way, without exploring the techniques used to create them.
“Impressionists in Normandy“, recently opened at the Museo degli Innocenti, in Florence, on the other hand, has the opportunity to deepen the knowledge of the works by combining art and science.
Florence had already hosted an innovative show in 2008, “Impressionism, Painting the Light” where the technique and materials used in the impressionist works were clearly explained.
Also in the current exhibition, visitors will be immersed in a path that will not only present the artworks of the impressionists, but also explore the painting technique that made these unique works possible.
The painting technique revealed
Visitors will be able to discover how artists used pigments, colors, and tools to create their works.
Throughout the exhibition path, chapters of impressionist painting technique are presented, starting from the canvases used, all available to be touched, passing through colour tubes, the innovation that allowed painting outdoors with nuances previously unavailable. In the second part, visitors will be able to discover the industrial history of each color and how they were used to create the artworks. And what materials and tools the impressionists could buy in the art supply stores available to them.
Then, the texture of the painting film created according to the tool used, brush or spatula, is illustrated.
The physics of art
At the center of the exhibition, there are also “games” that illustrate the physical principles behind the painting technique. Visitors will be able to discover how light, shadow, and texture contribute to creating the desired effect.
A single negative note, if one can say so, is that the catalog does not include what was presented in the “technical” section during the exhibition path.
