At the Accademia Gallery in Florence, the Riace Bronzes in the shots of Luigi Spina

From December 20, 2022 to March 12, 2023, the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, in collaboration with MArRC - Museo Archeologico Nazionale Reggio Calabria, hosts the exhibition I bronzi di Riace. un percorso per immagini. Photographs by Luigi Spina, curated by MArRC director Carmelo Malacrino, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Riace Bronzes.

The two bronze statues were in fact discovered on August 16, 1972, during an underwater fishing trip near Riace Marina, at a depth of 8 meters. After their recovery, the two statues depicting two nude male figures, conventionally named A and B, were transported to the National Museum of Reggio Calabria, where they underwent an initial restoration, later entrusted in early 1975 to the Laboratory of the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany. The Bronzes were put on public display for the first time in December 1980, at the Archaeological Museum in Florence and then in 1981 in Rome at the Quirinal Palace. Studies have established that the two works can be dated to around the mid-5th century B.C., examples of a skillful and fine bronze technique, perhaps made by two different masters but nonetheless for public use.

Sixteen large-format photographs (90 X 134 cm) are on display at the Accademia Gallery in Florence, in the rooms used for temporary exhibitions on the ground floor, thanks to the collaboration between Carmelo Malacrino and Luigi Spina to celebrate precisely the 50th anniversary of the discovery. The sequence of the images, eight plus eight, dedicated to statue A and statue B respectively, creates, as Spina explains, a slow and incessant narrative. “It underscores the bronze epidermis, different for each subject, which takes shape, density and luster, and the chiaroscuro of the bodies is tinged with the multifaceted spectrum of bronze that, as the light changes, shows bodily surfaces that converse with the eye of the observer.”

“As part of the DAVID 140 program, which celebrates the 140th anniversary of Michelangelo’s masterpiece in our museum’s Tribune,” explains Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, “we wanted to bring together, even if only virtually, the sculptures of art’s most beautiful and powerful Heroes: the statues that emerged from the sea of Riace, restored and exhibited for the first time right in Florence, told here by Luigi Spina’s beautiful shots, and our David, to celebrate, together with Carmelo Malacrino and the MArRC, two important birthdays. A unique opportunity to create a meaningful and fruitful collaboration between two institutions of the Ministry of Culture, such as ours.”

“Bringing the image of the Riace Bronzes back to the city where they were first displayed to the public will be a great thrill,” commented Director Malacrino. “Fifty years after their discovery, these two Mediterranean masterpieces continue to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Calabria from all over the world. I thank Director Hollberg for wanting to bring together two icons of art: the Riace Bronzes and Michelangelo’s David. An evocative exhibition offering and a concrete example of synergy between great Italian museums.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a volume in three languages (Italian, English and French), published by 5 Continents Editions, in the “Hidden Treasures” series, where Spina’s images are flanked by a historical and artistic narrative on the two statues, with texts by Carmelo Malacrino and Riccardo Di Cesare, archaeologist and professor at the University of Foggia.

Photo by Luigi Spina. Courtesy of 5 Continents Editions.

At the Accademia Gallery in Florence, the Riace Bronzes in the shots of Luigi Spina

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