Gino Severini: Modernity as Dialogue in Cortona
This summer, Cortona celebrates one of its most important native sons with Gino Severini. Modernity as Dialogue, a major international exhibition at the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona (MAEC), Palazzo Casali. Running from 5 July to 1 November 2026, the exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of Severini’s death.
Born in Cortona in 1883, Severini became a leading figure of Italian Futurism and one of the key artists of the European avant-garde. Rather than presenting him simply as a Futurist, the exhibition explores Severini as a mediator between worlds: Italy and France, tradition and innovation, avant-garde experimentation and classical culture, modern art and spirituality.
More than 80 paintings and drawings have been brought together from major international museums and private collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Estorick Collection in London, the Museo del Novecento in Milan and the Pinacoteca Vaticana. Works and documents also illuminate Severini’s relationships with artists such as Balla, Boccioni, Carrà, Soffici and Picasso.
One of the exhibition’s most intriguing sections examines Severini’s later religious art, including his ambitious mural projects for churches in French-speaking Switzerland. An immersive multimedia installation and virtual-reality experience add a contemporary dimension to the exhibition, while Cortona itself becomes part of the story through Severini-related sites and works around the town.
The result is more than a retrospective: it is a portrait of an artist continually moving between cultures, artistic languages and ideas. For visitors to Cortona, the exhibition offers a particularly personal encounter with Severini, reconnecting the internationally acclaimed modernist with the Tuscan town where he was born and to which he remained deeply attached throughout his life.
Team, 26/08/2026 18:03:56
