Female Perspectives

7 March – 26 May 2019

An exhibition and a catalogue devoted to the various spheres in which women expressed their creativity over the fifty years stretching from the last half of the 19th century to the first two decades of the 20th

Showcasing a variety of works of art, photographs, books and items of furniture and interior decor, the exhibition sets out to provide an innovative overview of the world of women at work.
Availing ourselves of cultural agreements of various kinds and of important loans from unknown or little-known collections and institutions, we endeavour to highlight the engagement and talent of women in the historical phase that followed Italy's unification, starting with the women (mostly straw weavers) who joined the Fratellanza Artigiana in 1861 and ending with Grazia Deledda, the first Italian woman to win the Nobel prize for literature with her novel Canes in the Wind in 1926.
The exhibition covers a period that marked a crucial turning point for women between conservatism and innovation. The issue of women played a crucial role in this historic moment of transition because every woman – a symbol of family tradition and an "angel of the hearth" – went out of her way to find a place for herself outside the home. To become a "player" on the chess board of society she had to build a social and working identity virtually from scratch, expanding her sphere of action beyond the household and its immediate vicinity, yet without rejecting that sphere. We have unearthed several hitherto unexplored pathways illustrating the astonishing variety of domains in which women expressed their talent, ranging from art, photography and writing to teaching, politics, social commitment and other fields.