Faith, Beauty, and Devotion Opening Soon

From September 16 to December 16, 2023, South Florida students and teachers will have an opportunity to see a rare collection of sacred and secular art by Italian and Flemish masters. Frascione Arte, an art gallery in Florence, Italy, will present 30 paintings from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. “Faith, Beauty, and Devotion: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Paintings” will open to the public on Saturday, September 16, at the Olga M. & Carlos A. Saladrigas Art Gallery at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School from noon to 8 p.m.  Admission is free. Visit www.belenjesuit.org/exhibition  for details.

Special events include:

The exhibition traces the historical and artistic changes from the 13th to 17th centuries as they relate to the Italian Renaissance when the powerful Medici banking family transformed Florence into the cultural center of Europe. Although some of the paintings have been loaned to world-renowned museums, most of these paintings have been held privately for generations, including the family of Frascione Arte’s fourth-generation owner, Federico Gandolfi Vannini. 

“The Saladrigas Gallery is enthusiastically awaiting the opening of the exhibition so we can begin sharing the paintings with visitors, including teachers and their students,” comments Sylvie Daubar-San Juan, Humanities Department Chairperson and Director of the Olga M. & Carlos A. Saladrigas Art Gallery at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. “Through the art in the exhibition, our guests will be able to trace the visual and historical changes that took place from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Informative labels will accompany the paintings, and we are going to have educational materials available for visiting groups.”

Family Move from Italy and Miami During the Pandemic

The Gandolfi Vannini family moved from Florence, Italy, to Key Biscayne, Miami, when the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic swept through Italy in the spring of 2020. Federico Gandolfi Vannini, his wife Daisy Diaz (a Cuban-American), and their four children often visit restorers and auctions, forming an intimate connection with the world of art. Frascione Arte conducts business with renowned museums such as the Getty in Los Angeles, the Musée d'Orsay, the Uffizi Gallery, and many others, as well as with collectors from around the world. Their oldest sons are students of Belen Jesuit Preparatory.