migliore+servetto designs path towards piero della francesca's madonna della misericordia

madonna della misericordia by piero della francesca
location: palazzo marino, milan
date: 6th december 2016 to 8th january 2017
project by: migliore+servetto architects
curator: andrea di lorenzo

milan-based firm migliore+servetto architects has designed a narrative path for piero della francesca’s masterpiece ‘madonna della misericordia’. set within milan’s palazzo marino, the exhibition aims to adapt and guide the eye and mind towards the understanding of the structure and genesis of the presented piece. visitors are invited to enter a space — that together with light and different-sized panels — create a procession towards the 273cm in height and 330cm in width polyptych.

a big and golden velarium trailing from the high ceiling defines the first approach
all images by leo torri

at the entrance, a wide wall overlooked by a big and golden velarium that trails from the high ceiling defines the first approach to the content and the history of the painting. from here — across the graphic wall — the visitors find themselves at an elevated position overlooking the wide ‘sala alessi’. in the center, a system made of veiled walls has been installed, framing and hosting the ‘madonna della misericordia’ surrounded by a light frame.

the sole painting has been promptly defined by light

the public’s first impression has not been focused on the artwork itself but rather on its connection with the polyptych that it is part of, emphasizing the meaning of its relation. on the dark scenic background, a dynamic line redesign in succession, all the missing parts of the polyptych, and then it turns off and hands the scene over to the sole painting, promptly defined by light.

a graphic wall previews the history of the masterpiece

ico migliore and mara servetto comment on the exhibition design: ‘in its conception, this process is viewed as a sort of lay precession towards an understanding of one of piero della francesca’s masterpieces. an approach structured into four successive moments that, through dynamic scenic and narrative sequences, gradually reveals and contextualizes the work. all of it has been aimed at bringing visitors to a place where they can personally measure, explore and observe, before arriving at the sight of the ‘unvarnished’ work, underlined in all its value by the light alone.’

the madonna della misericordia is part of a polyptych