Escher at the Innocenti Museum: from 20 October to 26 March

The great exhibition on the brilliant Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher arrives at the Museo degli Innocenti in Florence from 20 October 2022 to 26 March 2023. Discovered by the general public in recent years, Escher has become one of the most loved artists in the world, so much so that the exhibitions dedicated to him have broken all visitor records.

Escher, an Anthological Exhibition with about 200 Works

Escher was born in 1898 in Holland and died there in 1972. In 1922 he visited Italy for the first time. He then lived here for many years (from 1923 to 1935), visiting it from north to south and depicting it in many of his works. Restless, reserved and undoubtedly brilliant, in his famous engravings and lithographs Escher created a unique, imaginative, impossible world where art, mathematics, science, physics and design come together.

This is an anthological exhibition with about 200 works and the most representative works that have made him famous throughout the world. The exhibition shows the genius of the Dutch artist with his most iconic production including Hand with Reflecting Sphere (1935), Bond of Union (1956), Metamorphosis II (1939), Day and Night (1938) and the Emblemata series, all part of the collective imagination. There are eight thematic sections into which the exhibition has been organised, one of which is specifically dedicated to his trip to Italy, where the artist spent a long time, with a focus on Tuscany where he held his first solo exhibition in 1923. 

Installations for the Younger Visitors and the Bottega dei Ragazzi Trails

In all the sections, moreover, there are games and installations specially designed to introduce Escher to the younger visitors and bring the exhibition to life for them. This is a feature that brings the exhibition even closer to the Istituto degli Innocenti which for six centuries has been involved in receiving, educating and bringing up children and is still engaged in research and documentation activities to promote the rights and culture of children and adolescents. For children, adolescents and schools in the Florentine area, there are also educational activities in the Bottega dei Ragazzi of the Innocenti Museum. 'Playing with Escher' is the workshop for pre-school and primary schools.

There are five guided tours, depending on the age of the pupils and their school grade: Cacciatori di forme (Hunters of Shapes) is the trail especially designed for pre-schools, Escherland is for primary schools, Artematica for first grade secondary schools and Forma Mentis for secondary schools.

The Innocenti Museum 

In addition to these, there are guided tours for everyone, combining the exhibition of the great Dutch artist with the exhibits of the Innocenti Museum.  The exhibition on Escher, in fact, is one of the major events hosted in recent years within the monumental complex designed by Filippo Brunelleschi that also houses the Innocenti Museum, with a collection that is unique in the world because it is profoundly linked to the work carried out for more than six centuries for the benefit of children who could not be raised by their families of origin. Between history, art and architecture, the Museum's collection features works acquired through donations or as a result of the mergers with other charitable institutions. The collection boasts a number of masterpieces by major artists including Domenico Ghirlandaio, Luca and Andrea della Robbia, Sandro Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo. However, it has also works by artists who grew up at the Innocenti and were initiated into painting by Prior Vincenzo Borghini, such as Vincenzo Ulivieri, Giovan Battista Naldini and Francesco Morandini (known as Poppi). Furthermore, thanks to the Historical Archive, which keeps records of the activities carried out by the Institute since its foundation, the collection also preserves the memory of the many children who were looked after here.

The Exhibition: Organisers, Curators, Patrons and Sponsors

Under the patronage of the Municipality of Florence and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the exhibition is produced and organised by Arthemisia in collaboration with the M.C. Escher Foundation, Maurits and In Your Event, and is curated by Federico Giudiceandrea - one of the world's leading experts in Escher - and Mark Veldhuysen, CEO of the M.C. Escher Company.

The exhibition is sponsored by Generali Valore Cultura. Special partner: Ricola. Partners: Mercato Centrale, Barberino Designer Outlet and Unicoop Firenze. Mobility partner: Frecciarossa Treno Ufficiale. Media partner: QN La Nazione. Radio partner: Radio Monte Carlo. Educational partner: Laba. Media coverage by Sky Arte. The catalogue is published by Maurits.