The exhibition shows masterpieces from the Haukohl Family Collection, probably the most important ensemble of Florentine Baroque art outside of Italy. Before the tour initiated by the MNHA in 2018 in Germany, the collection assembled over more than 35 years has never been shown in Europe. The works clearly demonstrate that the Florentine artists of the 17th and early 18th centuries influenced European art history to a far greater extent previously perceived. Allegories, religious motifs, genre scenes and portraits by Jacopo da Empoli, Felice Ficherelli, Francesco Furini and Onorio Marinari form the core of the collection. Several works from the MNHA collection are also shown for the first time, such as Pier Dandini’s Banquet of Cleopatra and Mark Antony or Ottavio Vannini’s portraits of the evangelists Luke and John. As a whole, the exhibition shows the deep interest of the Florentine Baroque for science and for painting based on “disegno” (drawing or preliminary study). Most art works also feature magnificent (partly even historical) frames, enhancing the unadulterated flair of the baroque.
