Choose a work of art and send it a love letter: the idea of the Sienese Museums

A painting, a sculpture, an archaeological find, a scientific instrument, a demo-ethno-anthropological asset, preserved in one of the more than 40 museums in the Lands of Siena can become the recipients of a love letter. It is possible thanks to M’ama, non m’ama. Love Letters to Works of Art, the new initiative that Fondazione Musei Senesi is offering to its public on the occasion of Valentine’s Day and as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.

Because love comes in many forms, and it may have happened to anyone to fall in love with a work of art; to be moved by it, to experience its charm, disarming surprise or unexpected upset. And what would that work feel, toward us; what would it respond to us as we stare raptly at it? Museums are not only places of knowledge and preservation: they are spaces in which one can laugh and cry, reflect and wonder, but above all, be moved. And it is these emotions, then, that Fondazione Musei Senesi is asking us to shape with a letter: a novel way to celebrate museums and collections from the stories that people will be able to imagine and want to share.

The cue comes from a work by the painter Ugo Capocchini. When the love story with the young Clara ended, Capocchini, who had portrayed her, wanted to dispose of the painting; instead, Romano Bilenchi bought it (who later donated it to the City of Colle di Val d’Elsa, where it is now kept in the Museo San Pietro), who made it the protagonist of the story La rosa non finita. Because every story, even the seemingly finished one, can actually leave open a reflection, induce a new dialogue and transform itself.

The Unfinished

The rules of the game are simple: from now until June 30, anyone who wishes can send to the email letteredamore@museisenesi.org his or her letter addressed to a work preserved in one of the more than 40 museums in the Lands of Siena. And if it is true that every relationship is also made of trepidations, confirmations or denials, here there is no need to despair: sooner or later that work will respond!

These correspondences will be published online on the channels of Fondazione Musei Senesi while the best ones, selected by a special jury, will be awarded and published in a volume produced in collaboration with Betti Editrice.

“In recent years,” says Fondazione Musei Senesi director Elisa Bruttini, “we have been increasingly fascinated by an empathetic and emotional dimension through which to reread and present our museums. In the volume Paintings and Tears, moreover, James Elkins confronts us with a question: what happens when a work of art means more to us than its story, when it communicates to us something that is really difficult to express? I hope that our visitors can overcome their initial embarrassment and establish a more intimate dialogue with our works. And that they will be willing to put this feeling into words.”

All info, rules and a selection of “inspiring” works are available at museisenesi.org.

Choose a work of art and send it a love letter: the idea of the Sienese Museums

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.