Project

The Mugello in Drawings, The Mugello in Paintings, People and Places in the Mugello and Along the roads of the Mugello: a series of exhibits that are the culmination of a truly artistic, cyclical “project” which was conceived and realized by Prof. Adriano Bimbi and his Department of Painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence.

How can we count the ways it is possible for an artist to penetrate, or, rather, to excavate, a glimpse of nature like that provided by the extremely special strip of Tuscany bordering on Emilia known as the Mugello? How can we use the visibility provided by paintings to return the history and traditions, the customs and habits, the people and activities of this rough yet fascinating territory in Tuscany to their rightful position? It is not something feasible from inside the classrooms at the Accademia; it is something that has to be done on site, in order to establish a direct contact with the countryside and to experience the “logic of sensations” which distill visual perceptions and remove the veils of supplementary artistic learning. The final result, the overall effect of the students’ paintings, is that the Mugello ends up translated into effigies; its original nature has all been transferred into the paintings, somewhat like Cézanne’s depiction of Mount Sainte-Victorie.

Over the years, students from the Accademia have gone to the Mugello and worked on site for long periods of time under the guidance of Prof. Adriano Bimbi; they have been welcomed by the Townships of Barberino del Mugello and San Piero a Sieve and by the local Comunità Montana, all of which contributed to this project by providing the physical spaces necessary to carry it to its successful conclusion. The project, which was spread out over a period of several consecutive years, highlighted the formal training and research typical of Prof. Bimbi’s Department. Thus, the Accademia was able to work in concrete synergy with the culture of the territory, an “added value” for the formal training of young artists.

Examples of the students’ works were exhibited in the shows held at the Bosco ai Frati Convent, at the Villa di Cafaggiolo and at the Castello del Trebbio, where the entire group has gathered periodically to celebrate the time they spent in this area and to re-live the emotions brought on by the sight of those images, places and faces that are so familiar even though they were transfigured by oil paints, by the narrative of drawings.

This year, however, the project – which has already traveled from Tuscany to Emilia-Romagna for a show at the Ca’ La Ghironda museum – will be taking a further step up the ladder and going to New York, where it will be hosted by Pace University. This is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure which will allow Florence’s Accademia di Belle Arti to inaugurate a new program of international exchange and collaboration between the students and teachers of both institutes; next year, in fact, American students from Pace University will be welcomed to the Mugello, thanks to the continuing goodwill of the Township of San Piero a Sieve.

The Pace University students will be invited to work alongside Prof. Bimbi’s students on a new pictorial cycle, on a new experience of training and research and – why ever not? – on a new confrontation of cultures, ideas and sensibilities which can only enrich the students’ intellectual and creative heritage.

I would like to offer a special thank you to the Director of Pace University who has offered the Accademia the opportunity of this meaningful exchange in the name of Art: The Accademia, in collaboration with the Township of San Piero a Sieve, is truly looking forward to re-tracing the steps its students took through the Mugello on their journey of artistic growth alongside the students from Pace University.

Giuseppe Andreani,
Director, Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence