Description
The Museo del Novecento occupies the Palazzo dell'Arengario on Piazza del Duomo in Milan, opposite the arch of the Galleria: about four hundred 20th-century works, from Futurism to Arte Povera, with a final picture window overlooking the Duomo.
The visit begins with a spiral ramp that climbs from the Duomo metro stop; at its center stand the figures of Giorgio de Chirico's Mysterious Baths. Then comes a room of European avant-garde, with Picasso, Braque, Klee, Kandinsky and Modigliani.
The heart of the first floor is Futurism, one of the most complete collections of the movement. A whole room is devoted to Boccioni, with The Drinker and the Charge of the Lancers; beside it, Automobile + Speed + Light by Balla, Severini, Carrà and Depero.
The second floor runs through the years between the wars and abstraction, with a room for Giorgio Morandi, one for Fausto Melotti and one for Marino Marini, besides de Chirico and Arturo Martini.
On the top floor comes the surprise: the Lucio Fontana room, with his Neon Structure hanging in front of the picture window on Piazza del Duomo and a 1956 ceiling that came from a hotel on the island of Elba.
The route continues with Burri, Manzoni and the Azimuth artists, then a suspended walkway leads into the rooms of Palazzo Reale: kinetic art, Italian Pop art and, to close, Arte Povera.
The building has a long history. It is two twin palaces clad in Candoglia marble, the same as the Duomo, with the portal reliefs by Arturo Martini. The name looks back to the Middle Ages: the "arengario" was the seat of the city government, and the Broletto Vecchio stood a short distance away.
It took twenty years to build, between 1936 and 1956, and more than fifty to decide what to do with it: for decades it housed city and provincial offices. During the museum's works the facade was covered by a 487-square-meter LED screen.
The museum was meant to open in December 2009, for the centenary of the Futurist Manifesto. It arrived a year late, on December 6, 2010.
The visit begins with a spiral ramp that climbs from the Duomo metro stop; at its center stand the figures of Giorgio de Chirico's Mysterious Baths. Then comes a room of European avant-garde, with Picasso, Braque, Klee, Kandinsky and Modigliani.
The heart of the first floor is Futurism, one of the most complete collections of the movement. A whole room is devoted to Boccioni, with The Drinker and the Charge of the Lancers; beside it, Automobile + Speed + Light by Balla, Severini, Carrà and Depero.
The second floor runs through the years between the wars and abstraction, with a room for Giorgio Morandi, one for Fausto Melotti and one for Marino Marini, besides de Chirico and Arturo Martini.
On the top floor comes the surprise: the Lucio Fontana room, with his Neon Structure hanging in front of the picture window on Piazza del Duomo and a 1956 ceiling that came from a hotel on the island of Elba.
The route continues with Burri, Manzoni and the Azimuth artists, then a suspended walkway leads into the rooms of Palazzo Reale: kinetic art, Italian Pop art and, to close, Arte Povera.
The building has a long history. It is two twin palaces clad in Candoglia marble, the same as the Duomo, with the portal reliefs by Arturo Martini. The name looks back to the Middle Ages: the "arengario" was the seat of the city government, and the Broletto Vecchio stood a short distance away.
It took twenty years to build, between 1936 and 1956, and more than fifty to decide what to do with it: for decades it housed city and provincial offices. During the museum's works the facade was covered by a 487-square-meter LED screen.
The museum was meant to open in December 2009, for the centenary of the Futurist Manifesto. It arrived a year late, on December 6, 2010.