The Allure of the Modern Woman. From Boldini, Sironi, to Picasso

Either inspiring, candid muses or charming, carnal femme fatales, the female figure has seen countless interpretations in the painting of the changing times of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The idyllic allure of the past is re-invented to portray a more earthly and profane dimension. With the advent of the two World Wars, the traditional vision of women is definitely abandoned; women are not just wives and mothers, they are compatriots.

It’s in this context that the painters of the fin de siècle identify the woman as a mirror of social change and a symbol of progress. Women, in their various facets, embody modernity and become the key to understanding the contemporary world.  

This special exhibition of ca.50 paintings unveils original portraits of the Belle Époque women, from the voluminous and alluring Donne of Giovanni Boldini, to the mysterious and solemn female representations of Mario Sironi and Female Figure by Pablo Picasso, definitely marking the passage to the Modern Era.

A major exhibition featuring an exceptional selection of original artworks with the ambition of recounting stories of women: from lower social classes to middle-class women, workers, mothers, illustrious protagonists of the salons à la mode, women of “power” and legendary women, all portrayed against the backdrop of the society of the time by the most important painters including: Hayez, Boldini, Sironi, Campigli, Carrà, and Picasso. Artists with very different stylistic approaches and sensibilities, that not only reveal their research but also the several ideologies that populate the female universes between two centuries.

Themes

1. The Myth of the Femme Fatale

2. Timeless Heroines

3. Women in Everyday Life

4. Women Towards Modernity