An exhibition in Vicenza on women's hairstyles in the Renaissance

With "Faustina's Braids: Hairstyles, women and power in the Renaissance" the Gallerie d'Italia in Vicenza is dedicating an original exhibition to women's hairstyles in the 15th and 16th centuries, the artistic possibilities they offered and their importance in Italian society and fashion.

The title of the exhibition recalls one of the most spectacular and famous hairstyles, that of the Empress Faustina Maggiore, wife of Antoninus Pius: her bust can be found in the most famous Renaissance antiquarian collections of artists such as Lorenzo Ghiberti and Andrea Mantegna, as well as of patrons such as Lorenzo the Magnificent and Isabella d'Este, and her eccentric hairstyle was a model adopted by many women, especially in the Veneto region.

The exhibition, curated by Howard Burns, Vincenzo Farinella and Mauro Mussolin, hosts about 70 works from major national and international museums, as well as from the Intesa Sanpaolo collection: imperial and Renaissance busts, paintings, sculptures, ancient coins, modern medals, drawings, and printed volumes.

The exhibition also features several portraits of leading Renaissance women such as Lucrezia Borgia, Isabella d'Este or Eleonora da Toledo, highlighting the use of hairstyles as a means of proposing cultural values and models of behaviour.

The Vicenza museum is part of Intesa Sanpaolo's Gallerie d'Italia museum project, along with the museums in Milan, Naples and Turin.

Open to the public from 14 December 2023 to 7 April 2024.
For information on timetables and admission please visit the Gallerie d'Italia website.