Prato, Pistoletto and Klein join permanent collection at Palazzo Pretorio

The Museum of Palazzo Pretorio in Prato is enriching its permanent collection with two new works: these are Michelangelo Pistoletto ’s Venus Maria - Sepia-colored Nude and Yves Klein’s Victoire de Samothrace, both donated by Prato collector Carlo Palli.

These had already been displayed at the museum venue on the occasion of the Syncronicity exhibition in 2015. The City Council has already spoken in favor of the donation; on Thursday, February 11, the City Council will make a final decision on the matter. they will be placed on the third floor, in the section devoted to the 19th and 20th centuries, near the sculptures of Lorenzo Bartolini and Jacques Lipchitz, precisely where Pistoletto’s work had been set up on the occasion of Syncronicity.

Venus Maria - Sepia-toned Nude by Michelangelo Pistoletto is a silkscreen print on mirror-polished stainless steel, one of the artist’s most beloved works, depicting his wife Maria Pioppi. "Curator Stefano Pezzato juxtaposed this work with masterpieces such as Titian’s Venus d’Urbino, Goya’s Maya desnuda, Manet’s Olympia, suggesting the idea that if past centuries had their Venus, the twentieth century had Pistoletto’s,“ comments Palli. ”I bought this work in 1974 and it has traveled the world, kept in my house. However, I believe that Venus Maria deserves to be admired by the public, and that is why I wanted to donate it to the City Museum, to share its beauty."

In the very early 1960s Yves Klein painted with his IKB (International Klein Blue) three plaster works, reproductions of past art masterpieces kept at the Louvre. Among them was the Venus of Samothrace: the artist thus intended to free the work from the conventions of classical tradition. IKB is a paint invented by Yves Klein using the monochrome blue pigment that has become iconic for the artist: it evokes contemplation and infinity.

“I would like to thank Carlo Palli for his generosity on behalf of the entire city,” commented Simone Mangani, culture alderman for the City of Prato. “These works are another addition to the museum and allow us to pay homage to two of our highly regarded contemporary artists. We hope that the City Council will give its approval to the donation.”

Pictured is Yves Klein’s Victoire de Samothrace.

Prato, Pistoletto and Klein join permanent collection at Palazzo Pretorio

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