(1 September 2017) The exhibition “The Corsini Collection” will be inaugurated on September 2nd at the Auckland Art Gallery. Works of the latest private collection of a royal Italian family, the Corsini, will travel to New Zealand for the first time. The exhibition comprises of works by Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Botticelli, Bronzino, and Caravaggio. It aims to show the works in their historical, socio-political, and cultural context. The collection has never left Italy before nor has it ever been shown in a touring exhibition. The show was curated in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney and the Italian Embassy in Wellington. It is open to the public until January 21st, 2018. It also features works by Van Dyck and Rigaud as well as decorative objects that allow the viewer to place the Corsini Collection in a historical context. The viewers will also have the opportunity to learn about an extraordinary Italian family who dedicated their lives to their love and passion for art, putting together a collection that has survived the Second World War and the tragic flood of 1966. (Red)

THE CORSINI PRINCES

Florence, often defined as the cradle of the Renaissance, was the centre of an enormous political, economic, and religious prosperity carried forward by single families that heavily influenced Florence’s role in Italian politics. The Corsini Princes were among the most important and influential families in Central Italy from the Middle Ages until the 17^th century.