Exhibition Antonio Ligabue
From October 3, 2024, to February 28, 2025, the rooms of Palazzo Pallavicini will host, for the first time ever in Bologna, an exhibition dedicated to Antonio Ligabue, a great Italian Expressionist painter (Zurich, December 18, 1899 – Gualtieri, May 27, 1965).
Organized and curated by Chiara Campagnoli, Deborah Petroni, and Rubens Fogacci of Pallavicini s.r.l., along with the Artistic Direction and curation of WeAreBeside, produced in collaboration with SM.Art and sponsored by the Fondazione Augusto Agosta Tota for Antonio Ligabue, with texts by Francesca Bogliolo.
The exhibition, divided into 7 rooms of Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna, will depict the life, psyche, and troubled history of this fascinating artist through over 120 works (including 81 paintings, 14 sculptures, 17 drawings, and 15 prints).
On display, in a retrospective of his career, are some of his most beautiful masterpieces, including 12 self-portraits and 7 tigers with gaping jaws, as well as agile leopards, raptors hunting prey or fighting for survival, and powerful lions: a true, raw, and violent jungle.
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Useful Information:
Exhibition Opening Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
Special Openings
- October 4, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
- November 1 and 2, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
- December 8, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
- December 31, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:00 PM)
- January 1, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
- January 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
- February 8, 2025, from 10:00 AM to midnight (last entry at 11:00 PM)
- February 18, 19, 25, 26, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM)
Scheduled Full-Day Closures
- December 24 and 25, 2025
Guided tours 2024 (For bookings, please email info@palazzopallavicini.com or buy your ticket directly here)
- Saturday 12 October, 5 p.m.
- Sunday 13 October, 11 a.m.
- Saturday 19 October, 5 p.m.
- Sunday 20 October 11 a.m.
- Saturday 26 October, 5 p.m.
- Sunday 27 October, 11 a.m.
Tickets:
- Full Price: €16
- Reduced: €14 (for ages 6 to 18, seniors over 65 with ID, students up to 26 with ID, military personnel with ID, tour guides with ID, practicing and publicist journalists with valid press ID, companions of disabled persons, ICOM members with ID, AICS Bologna members with ID)
- Card Cultura, Bologna Congress Card, Bologna Welcome Card: €12
- University Thursday (with a valid student ID from any faculty): €12
- Free: Children under 6 years old, disabled persons with Disability Card released from INPS
- *Groups (minimum 10 people): €12 (1 free guide per group)
- *Schools (from kindergarten to high school): €5 (2 free chaperones per class and 104 free tickets)
*For groups and schools, advance reservation is required by emailing: info@palazzopallavicini.com
- Open Ticket: €18 - Skip-the-line ticket valid any opening day, including weekends and holidays
- For all tickets purchased online or at other ticket offices, an additional €1.5 booking fee applies
Important Notices: Access for non-ambulant or wheelchair users (non-electric) is only available via a Jolly Ramp D3000010 stairlift provided by TGR, with a weight capacity of up to 140 kg (calculated between person and wheelchair, total weight to be managed by the visitor) for two flights of stairs totaling 38 steps. The complete technical specification is available for download and review at: https://tgr.it/prodotto/jolly-ramp-montascale-mobile-a-cingoli/
Exhibition and Event Contacts - Palazzo Pallavicini- Email: info@palazzopallavicini.com
- Phone: +39 3313471504
Press Office and Social Media - Digital Suits
- Email: press@digitalsuits.it - info@digitalsuits.it
- Phone: +39 3348689589
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Press Release:
For Antonio Ligabue, art was always an innate need that helped him endure the difficulties and pains of life. This is particularly evident in the strength of his paintings, which continues to impact and move viewers deeply today. The exhibition presents the art of this visionary genius, ever-evolving, showcasing his passionate search through which he knew how to invent and renew his works using violent, yet harmonious colors, with their pressing emotional suggestion, presenting both popular and refined iconography. On display, in a retrospective of his career, are some of his most beautiful masterpieces, including 12 self-portraits and 7 tigers with gaping jaws, as well as agile leopards, raptors seizing prey or fighting for survival, and powerful lions: a true raw and violent jungle. The works come from private collections, banks, and museums, including the famous self-portraits, the wonderful Tiger Head from 1953, Leopard from 1955, Motorcyclist from 1954, sculptures like Lion and Lioness from 1935, Panther from 1938, Crouching Lioness from 1940, up to the Gorilla Bust from 1956, and drawings featuring animal figures, including the 1955 Pencil Self-Portrait. The exhibition also features 15 precious engravings. On the occasion of the exhibition, director Ezio Aldoni, who in 2015 created the docufilm Antonio Ligabue. The Man, in which he narrated the dramatic and fascinating life of Antonio Ligabue through the direct testimonies of those who knew him, will produce a reduced and updated edition with a new interview with art critic Renzo Margonari. The video will be shown and visible exclusively at the exhibition. Mario Fiori, General Secretary of the Fondazione Augusto Agosta Tota per Antonio Ligabue, reminds us of the artist's expressive power: “Antonio Ligabue is direct, immediate, never hesitant; all the iconographies he created are not related to fantasy, everything is done based on precise memories or images related to his daily life, he sees or remembers!” Francesca Biagioli from WeAreBeside introduces us to Ligabue’s animal world: “The animals depicted by Ligabue become allegories of his psychic torment. Whether domestic animals or fierce predators, the artist uses these figures to convey his inner conflict, the derision, and marginalization he experiences daily.” “Ligabue’s self-portraits are precious testimonies of an incessant search for identity, where the artist outlines the contours of his own fragility, not free from strong anxiety. They are accompanied by depictions of animals, emblems of dynamism and conflict: the intensity of life is the true protagonist of Ligabue’s art, bursting onto the canvas without the filter of rationality, through incisive and energetic strokes,” says Francesca Bogliolo, art critic. Simona and Cinzia Agosta Tota, leading the Foundation, summarize the spirit that drives their work: the Foundation finds its origin and continuity in the decades-long activity carried out by Augusto Agosta Tota, our father, who since 1983 has dedicated passion, research, and study, managing to create a reality that has immediately become a reference point for those approaching Antonio Ligabue with critical, cultural, and scientific interest.
The organization of Palazzo Pallavicini is eager to highlight that this major exhibition on Antonio Ligabue confirms its constant attention to visitors and aims to elevate the cultural quality levels of the city of Bologna and the Palazzo, taking into account the demands of an increasingly cultured, attentive, and demanding audience. Additionally, to engage new generations, families, and children, we have designed an immersive section where tigers, lions, and other wild animals will come to life through new technologies. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by Palazzo Pallavicini, available exclusively at the exhibition, with a critical text by Francesca Bogliolo and section insights written by WeAreBeside.
Pallavicini Srl has been organizing and hosting exhibitions of internationally renowned artists at Palazzo Pallavicini since 2017, with a keen eye on Italian artistic heritage, from photography to modern and contemporary art.
The Fondazione Augusto Agosta Tota per Antonio Ligabue aims to promote art and culture with a particular focus on the figure and work of Antonio Ligabue, examined through scientific and rigorous criteria.
WeAreBeside – www.wearebeside.com is a publishing company specialized in creating content and creative, cultural, and entertainment projects. Its projects are realized through editorial formats and exhibitions, with an innovative or classic approach depending on the target audience.
SM.Art – www.smartmostre.it is a company specializing in the production of exhibitions, fairs, and events, and provides direct event services through a team of selected collaborators.