Ferrara, a major exhibition on Antonio Ligabue at Palazzo dei Diamanti with more than 100 works

A new exhibition on Antonio Ligabue (Zurich, 1899 - Gualtieri, 1965) : the exhibition Antonio Ligabue. A Life as an Artist, curated by Marzio Dall’Acqua and Vittorio Sgarbi with the supervision of Augusto Agosta Tota, and organized by Fondazione Ferrara Arte in collaboration with Fondazione Archivio Antonio Ligabue of Parma. Running from October 31, 2020 to April 5, 2021, the Ferrara exhibition promises to transport the public inside the genuine and visionary world of the Swiss-born painter, with an anthological exhibition featuring 107 works by the artist (some of which have never been exhibited before), including 77 paintings, 20 sculptures and 10 drawings. The works, collected by the Antonio Ligabue Archive Foundation chaired by Augusto Agosta Tota, were made available by 50 private collectors from all over Italy, and selected by Vittorio Sgarbi, president of Ferrara Arte, and Marzio Dall’Acqua, curators of the exhibition.

The exhibition aims to retrace the career of the artist who arrived 1919 in Gualtieri, in the province of Reggio Emilia, the birthplace of his adoptive father. A difficult life, marked by hostility, misunderstandings and repeated hospitalizations in psychiatric hospitals: Ligabue nevertheless managed to resist, finding in artistic practice that “safe place” he never had outside art. Painting and sculpture thus became the means to transform difficulties into opportunities and to give voice to his thoughts. The itinerary intends to focus on the fundamental themes of his research: from the intimate diary of self-portraits to landscapes of the heart, from portraits to still lifes, from wild to domestic animals, from rural landscapes to hunting scenes and blizzards. A tale that emphasizes the uniqueness of his poetics and reveals the natural, pure and instinctive force of his genius.

“Ligabue at Palazzo dei Diamanti is welcomed with the honor he deserves,” Vittorio Sgarbi said when presenting the anthological exhibition to the press. “This is perhaps his most important venue on an institutional level. I am proud of this: Ligabue is a painter known by people and ignored by critics. But Ligabue exists, he gives us a vision of reality from the point of view of the animals he portrays. For him, painting is living reality. It is his dream superimposed on the peasant reality of his existence.” Sgarbi then recalled that in Ferrara Ligabue’s only exhibition was in 1972, by Franco Farina. Sgarbi, during his speech at the press conference, also recalled the figure of Philippe Daverio (“He established that talking about Ligabue is a duty of criticism”), who passed away on September 2 this year: the catalog contains a writing by him, in which Daverio defines the artist from Gualtieri as a “rebellious soul, who breaks the form, tears it, reveals its energy.”

“This anthological exhibition, in terms of type, number of rooms and works on display,” Augusto Agosta Tota says instead, “is, in my memory, unique. I tried my best to represent Ligabue in his fullness. Thanks to the lenders, from all over the peninsula, who deprive themselves of works for months to contribute to this exhibition. They have joined in spirit, understanding the value of this exhibition. It is important that the curators conceived an anthology, which is always difficult because it requires representing all subjects , with representations in quality. We have made great sacrifices, but the satisfaction today is enormous.”

“An important day, even more important considering the historical moment we are living,” said Ferrara Mayor Alan Fabbri. "The museums are moving forward. After the great success in recent months of the exhibition An Artist Called Banksy, today we are inaugurating the anthological exhibition of a great painter, sculptor, and draftsman who lived in the Po Valley, whom we feel is close to our land. We are proud of this opportunity and for that I thank Sgarbi, the staff of Ferrara Arte and the Antonio Ligabue Archive Foundation of President Tota, with all the collaborators. I think this is a great opportunity for Ferrara, Ligabue is a popular artist who was inspired by the land of Emilia and with his works turned weakness into strength."

“This is one of the most comprehensive Ligabue exhibitions,” stressed Culture Councilor Marco Gulinelli, “our desire was to represent an extraordinary artist at his best. Ligabue’s art was born from suffering and loneliness, combined with genius and talent.” Gulinelli then made an appeal, “This is an important and delicate moment for the whole country. Museums are safe places, also and especially thanks to the many actions put in place. We have strictly applied protocols and all prevention and security measures.”

In January, the president of Ferrara Arte anticipated, actor Elio Germano, star of the film Volevo nascondermi (I wanted to hide ), which premiered in Ferrara on August 15 and 16. Once the exhibition at the Palazzo dei Diamanti is over, work will begin in April on the new connection between the two wings of the building(this is what it will look like), which will last several months. For all info on the exhibition you can visit the Palazzo dei Diamanti website.

Ferrara, a major exhibition on Antonio Ligabue at Palazzo dei Diamanti with more than 100 works

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