Beyond the Renaissance. From Dürer to Parmigianino: The Most Restless Side of the 16th Century Comes to Florence
From September 10, 2026, to January 5, 2027, Palazzo Medici Riccardi will host an exhibition exploring the freest and most surprising aspects of European printmaking from the 15th to the 17th centuries.
Approximately 150 works from the collection of Georg Baselitz and the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts explore Dürer, Parmigianino, Mantegna, Beccafumi, and the great masters of printmaking through the eyes of an artist who has made the freedom of form one of the hallmarks of his own artistic practice.
When the Renaissance Changed Course
In Florence, the Renaissance is everywhere: in the architecture, in the museums, in the squares, and in the very idea of beauty with which we continue to identify the city. But there is a moment in art history when that perfection begins to be called into question.
Figures become elongated, proportions grow bolder, and poses become elaborate and almost theatrical. Tradition remains, but artists begin to approach it with greater freedom. This marks the transition toward Mannerism, a refined and restless period that for a long time was considered almost an appendix to the great Renaissance but which today appears instead as one of the most experimental moments in European art.
It is precisely this liminal territory that is explored by “Beyond the Renaissance: Between Dürer and Parmigianino”, the exhibition scheduled at Palazzo Medici Riccardi from September 10, 2026, to January 5, 2027.
Curated by Daniel Blau, Sergio Risaliti, and Valentina Zucchi, the exhibition brings together approximately 150 works from the private collection of Georg Baselitz and the collections of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, creating a journey that spans different schools, artists, and techniques and restores to printmaking the central role it played in the circulation of ideas during the sixteenth century.
The Perspective of Georg Baselitz
What makes this exhibition unique is, above all, the perspective from which it emerges. It is not merely about exploring Mannerist printmaking, but about doing so through the lens of Georg Baselitz, a German artist who has been collecting prints by the great masters of the past for over sixty years.
His passion for printmaking began as early as the 1960s. In 1964, he purchased The Sacrifice by Antonio Fantuzzi of Trento, inspired by Rosso Fiorentino’s painting at Fontainebleau. From that moment on, his collection grew, driven by an increasingly focused curiosity toward works in which tradition is interpreted, distorted, and taken into unexpected territories.
“I’m interested in those borderline cases in art, where familiar ground becomes uncertain and the classical vision breaks down. Beyond that point, things become more vivid.”
Baselitz’s words reveal much of the reason why Mannerism has fascinated him so deeply. The eccentric figures, elongated anatomies, complex compositions, and that constant deviation from the classical ideal are elements that find a surprising parallel in his own artistic exploration.
The collection thus becomes more than just a gathering of ancient works. It is a part of his artistic history, a way of recounting the images that have caught his eye and continued to challenge him throughout his life.
From Dürer to Parmigianino: An Exhibition Spanning Europe
The exhibition begins with the famous prints by Albrecht Dürer, including the Rhinoceros, and guides visitors through a wide variety of artistic styles and sensibilities.
On display are works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, along with a rare example of one of his woodcut plates, and the extraordinary experiments in chiaroscuro by Domenico Beccafumi and Ugo da Carpi, featuring the famous Diogenes.
Next, visitors encounter Jacques Bellange, the imaginative images associated with Arcimboldo, and a section dedicated to the explorations of Parmigianino and the artists who engaged with his style, including through the theme of the Deposition of Christ.
The exhibition continues with engravers from the Fontainebleau School, including Léon Davent, Geoffroy Dumonstier, and Juste de Juste, as well as some of the leading figures in German, Italian, French, Flemish, and Dutch printmaking, such as Hans Sebald Beham, Andrea Andreani, and Hendrick Goltzius.
Also on view from the collections of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts are important works by Antonio del Pollaiolo and Parmigianino himself, which help expand the narrative all the way back to the roots of the golden age of Italian printmaking.
The result is an exhibition that does not merely follow a chronological sequence. Rather, it is a map of images that shift, are observed, revisited, and transformed.
In the sixteenth century, printmaking became one of the most effective tools for circulating models and ideas throughout Europe.
The Line as a Field of Experimentation
The true protagonist of the exhibition is printmaking, long considered a secondary art form compared to painting; here, engraving reveals its full autonomy. Woodcuts, etchings, burin engravings, and drypoint engravings showcase different techniques and nearly infinite expressive possibilities.
The line can be subtle or bold, continuous or fragmented; it can suggest a form, create a shadow, or lend depth to a surface. The printing plate becomes a space for experimentation where the artist can test their vision of an image.
Thanks to printing the inventions of individual artists can travel and transform. An image created in Italy can reach France or Germany, be reinterpreted, and then circulate again with a completely different appearance. Printmaking thus becomes one of the major tools through which sixteenth-century Europe builds a common language.
At Palazzo Medici Riccardi, several display cases curated by the Fondazione Il Bisonte will also offer a close-up look at the tools and equipment associated with various engraving techniques, making the steps required to create the works easier to understand.
A Collection That Tells the Story of an Artist
Viewing a private collection also means examining the choices of the person who assembled it. In Baselitz’s case, these choices speak with great clarity about his sensibility; his focus often centers on artists who refuse to settle for established rules, who shift the balance of figures, and who seek a beauty distinct from the conventional.
The exhibition also features four important sculptures by Baselitz and one of his self-portraits, which enter the galleries as a contemporary presence and highlight the connection between the artist’s creative exploration and the world of images he has collected for decades.
This is not a simple comparison between past and present. It is a dialogue between artists separated by centuries, yet united by a desire to challenge what seems already established.
Florence and Baselitz: A Bond That Endures
The exhibition’s presence in Florence takes on special significance due to the relationship Baselitz had with the city. The artist spent time at the Villa Romana—a formative experience in his artistic development—and maintained a special bond with Florence over the years.
The exhibition at Palazzo Medici Riccardi also coincides with “Baselitz. AVANTI!”, the major exhibition dedicated to the artist by the Museo Novecento, on view through September 13, 2026. For a few days, visitors will thus be able to observe two complementary aspects of his personality: at the Museo Novecento, the artist, through his graphic explorations and his body of work; at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the collector, through the ancient works he selected and preserved throughout his life. Two different exhibitions, yet united by a common thread: graphic art as a space for exploration.
Another Way of Looking at the Renaissance
Perhaps this is precisely why “Beyond the Renaissance: Between Dürer and Parmigianino” feels so naturally at home in Florence.
In a city accustomed to living surrounded by Renaissance masterpieces, the exhibition invites visitors to shift their gaze just a few centimeters. To see what happens when perfection is called into question, when proportions become bolder, and the image gains a new freedom.
Mannerism no longer appears, then, as a mere interlude between two eras, but as a laboratory where artists experiment with new forms, new balances, and new ways of depicting the human figure. And it is precisely this freedom that attracted Baselitz.
Perhaps because, five centuries later, the question remains the same: what happens when we stop seeking the perfect form and start looking for the one that most resembles us?
An event to mark on your calendar
“Beyond the Renaissance: From Dürer to Parmigianino” will be on view at Palazzo Medici Riccardi from September 10, 2026, to January 5, 2027.
Guided tours are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 p.m., while on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., a family activity featuring an engraving workshop is on the program. These activities can also be booked by elementary schools and middle and high schools.
Perhaps Florence doesn’t need to show us once again just how beautiful it is; every now and then, it can afford to show us just how restless, curious, and surprisingly contemporary its history is.
