Florence & Tuscany Guide / Museums / Modern Art & Costume Gallery

The Gallery of Modern Art is housed on the top floor of the Pitti Palace, with a splendid view of the hill and Boboli Gardens. It holds over two thousand works providing an almost complete panorama of Tuscan painting from the 18th to 20th century.

The late 18th-century collection includes works by Neoclassical painters such as Pietro Benvenuti (Oath of Saxons to Napoleon, Portrait of the Grand Duchess Marie Antoinette) and sculptors, such as Antonio Canova (Head of Napoleon).

Romantic painting is represented by the works of Francesco Hayez and Francesco Sabatelli.

20th-century painting is represented by the works of artists such as Gino Severini, Ardengo Soffici, Giorgio de Chirico, Felice Casorati, Ottone Rosai.

The Costume Gallery is housed in the Palazzina della Meridiana, begun by Gaspare Paoletti in 1776 and completed by Pasquale Poccianti during the grand duchy of Leopoldo II. Inaugurated in 1983, it houses a large collection of antique period costumes dating from the 18th to 20th century. Progressing through thirteen rooms, the articles on display describe the evolution of fashion and clothing, with particular attention to women's costumes, from the rigid 18th-century corsets to the short dresses of the twentieth century.