Florence, flowers and starry skies in a large video installation in the Sala d'Arme at Palazzo Vecchio

In the Sala d’Arme in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, a large video installation by the artist duo Angela Detanico and Rafael Lain entitled Flowering of Light, curated by Sergio Risaliti and promoted by the Museo Novecento, can be seen until Jan. 8, 2025, on the occasion of the Christmas holidays.

As in previous years, the Museo Novecento in Florence renews its commitment within the program of events proposed by the administration to brighten the Christmas season. The theme chosen by museum director Sergio Risaliti is summed up in the term IRRADIAZIONI, which on the one hand is linked to the symbolism of flowers as a sign of continuous rebirth, as in many Renaissance paintings, from the flowering meadows in the Annunciations by Beato Angelico and Leonardo da Vinci or in theAdoration of the Magi by Filippo Lippi; on the other, it draws attention to starry skies and the observation of infinity, referring also to the presence in Florence of Galileo Galilei’s pioneering observation instruments and the Arcetri astronomical observatory.

Spread over the seven arches of the Sala d’Arme, the installation unfolds as a visual dialogue between fields of flowers and distant galaxies, evoking a continuous cycle of birth and death, of beginning and end, of “flowering” and sinking into cosmic darkness. The images, which respond in a synchronized mirror play, show this fleeting beauty to make people reflect on the cycle of life on the planet and in the universe through a strong emotional involvement, which also comes from the immersive structure of the installation. While flower meadows were photographed with smartphones, nebulae were observed through the powerful Hubble telescope far away from us. Cyclic motion leads things to dissolve into maximum luminescence and then conversely resurface once they disappear into deep darkness

This project was made possible by a grant from Gucci and support from the Claudia Cardinale Foundation.

Photo by Leonardo Morfini. Courtesy of Museo Novecento.

Florence, flowers and starry skies in a large video installation in the Sala d'Arme at Palazzo Vecchio

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