Macramè and Weaving Workshops - Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milano

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Macramè and Weaving Workshops - Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milano

On the occasion of the exhibition “Piero della Francesca. The Reunited Augustinian Polyptych”, workshops dedicated to weaving will be held to discover more closely one of the artist’s greatest protagonists in painting: fabric.

Piero della Francesca. “THE REUNITED AUGUSTINIAN POLYPTYCH”

20 March – 24 June 2024
Museo Poldi Pezzoli

https://museopoldipezzoli.it/scopri/mostre-ed-eventi/

For the first time, the eight panels of the 1469 polyptych, coming from New York, Lisbon, London and Washington, can be admired together in Milan. The secrets of this extraordinary Renaissance masterpiece are revealed through a campaign of diagnostic analyses supported by Fondazione Bracco.

The exhibition aims to restore to the public and scholars the full experience of Piero della Francesca’s work, with all its evocative power of the Renaissance era. Seen up close, the paintings reveal the master’s meticulous attention to fabrics and luxurious jewels, such as the gold brocade of Saint Augustine and the armour of Saint Michael the Archangel and, in contrast, the simplicity of the robe of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, austere and rough. They also show the plays of light that Piero della Francesca skilfully employed for each panel, revealing great attention to the details of the ornaments that today engage in a perfect dialogue with the decorative arts present in the Milanese museum’s collection.

The exhibition in Milan is therefore an exceptional opportunity for the entire public and fundamental for research and study by experts from all over the world; conferences, study days and discussions among leading specialists of Piero della Francesca and his painting will be organised, along with numerous activities for families and children.

The Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, in particular, proposes workshops dedicated to weaving, in collaboration with the Fondazione Lisio of Florence.

Admission is free until capacity is reached; reservation is required at relazioni_istituzionali@museopoldipezzoli.it in one of the following time slots: 11:00–13:00 and 15:00–17:00.

11 May / MACRAMÉ WORKSHOP: participants will be able to explore this ancient art through the reproduction of patterns and decorative elements inspired by wedding trousseaux and ecclesiastical garments.

22 June / TABLET WEAVING WORKSHOP: discovering how this technique was fundamental to the development of textile art in the fifteenth century.

22 June - TABLET WEAVING WORKSHOP

Curated by Eva Basile for the Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio.

In Piero della Francesca’s works, great attention can be observed in the rendering of silks and drapery; brocades, damasks and velvets are depicted with remarkable pictorial and descriptive precision. The tablet weaving technique, one of the oldest, represents the foundation for the development of textile art later portrayed by the painter.

Miniatures from the Northern European context (Flanders, France) depict tablet weaving (see the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry, 1412–1416, and the Ludolph of Saxony Vita Christi Miniatures attributed to Jacques de Besançon, Paris, 1490). The period was characterised by lively exchanges between those regions and Italy, which were also reflected in the life and work of the painter.

RESERVATION REQUIRED - FREE PARTICIPATION

11 May - MACRAMÉ WORKSHOP

Curated by Franca Verteramo for the Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio.

Macramé is a technique of Arab origin whose name, according to some interpretations, derives from the fusion of the words “mahrana”, fringe, and “rame”, knot. The term summarises the distinctive feature of this art of weaving and knotting. It arrived in Italy around 1400, in the ports where sailing ships from the Middle East docked. On ships, macramé was also used by sailors for knotting nets. Once it reached Italy, during the time of Piero della Francesca, macramé was refined, allowing the fine reproduction of increasingly complex designs using delicate threads for the creation of precious lace, wedding trousseau ornaments and finishes for ecclesiastical garments.

In the works of Piero della Francesca, an artist attentive to the representation of detail, some elements can still be reproduced today in macramé. The techniques and methods will be explained during the workshop.

RESERVATION REQUIRED - FREE PARTICIPATION

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