Time is out of joint

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea — National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome

I didn’t realize that there was an inscription on the steps until I crossed the road to take a picture of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, and I was excited like a child when I entered the hall.

‘Time is Out of Joint’ is the title of the exhibition started in October 2016 (open until 15.04.2018), quoting a verse of the Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Just as that verse displaces even the most excellent translations (off its hinges, out of square, disjointed… unhinged?) the show makes you walk beyond the usual chronological order through hundreds of works of art (paintings, sculptures and installations) by dozens of 19th and 20th century artists.

From Gustav Klimt to Lucio Fontana, to De Chirico and Modigliani, from universally renown artists such as Andy Warhol to important artists but less known to poor common mortals like me, I experienced a fascinating trip without any coordinate but the spatial ones of the huge Gallery.

Mario Sironi - Il costruttore (1936) — Mario Sironi – Il costruttore (1936)

Giorgio de Chirico - Presente e passato (1936) — Giorgio de Chirico – Presente e passato (1936)

Lucio Fontana - Concetto spaziale -- Attese (1959) — Lucio Fontana – Concetto spaziale — Attese (1959)

Renato Guttuso - Crocifissione (1940-1941) — Renato Guttuso – Crocifissione (1940-1941)

Amedeo Modigliani - Nudo sdraiato (1918-1919) — Amedeo Modigliani – Nudo sdraiato (1918-1919)

Gustav Klimt - Le tre età (1905) — Gustav Klimt – Le tre età (1905)

Amedeo Modigliani - Ritratto di Hanka Zborowska (1917) — Amedeo Modigliani – Ritratto di Hanka Zborowska (1917)

Vincent Van Gogh - Il giardiniere (1889) — Vincent Van Gogh – Il giardiniere (1889)

Mario Ceroli - L'ultima cena (1965) — Mario Ceroli – L’ultima cena (1965)

Vincenzo Gemito - Ritratto di Michetti (1873-1874) and Lorenzo Bartolini - Ritratto del conte Guelfo Estense Trotti Mosti (183-1840) — Vincenzo Gemito – Ritratto di Michetti (1873-1874)
and Lorenzo Bartolini – Ritratto del conte Guelfo Estense Trotti Mosti (183-1840)

Davide Rivalta - Leoni (2016) — Davide Rivalta – Leoni (2016)

Giorgio Morandi - Bagnanti (1915) — Giorgio Morandi – Bagnanti (1915)

Giorgio de Chirico - Bagnante coricata (1932) — Giorgio de Chirico – Bagnante coricata (1932)

Pino Pascali - 32 mq di mare circa (1967) and Piet Mondrian - Grande Composizione A (1920) in the background — Pino Pascali – 32 mq di mare circa (1967)
and Piet Mondrian – Grande Composizione A (1920) in the background

Edgard Degas - Dopo il bagno (1886 ca.) — Edgard Degas – Dopo il bagno (1886 ca.)

Umberto Boccioni - Antigrazioso (1912-1913) — Umberto Boccioni – Antigrazioso (1912-1913)

Carlo Carrà - L'ovale delle apparizioni (1918) — Carlo Carrà – L’ovale delle apparizioni (1918)

Andy Warhol - Hammer and sickle (1977) — Andy Warhol – Hammer and sickle (1977)

Okay, okay, I stop it (I don’t want to further spoil your visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome!).

So BEAUTIFUL and intense was the tour that soon afterwards I felt soooo hungry that I HAD to have lunch at the wonderful “Caffè delle arti” in the same building (you can see people sitting and eating through a glass door while you are visiting one of the exhibition’s areas).