For BIAF, the Florence International Biennale of Antiques, Pineider chose to begin with an image that never became reality, and that, for precisely that reason, still speaks to the power of imagination: Michelangelo’s design for the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo. A vision that never left the page. A building that was never built, yet still bears witness to one of drawing’s most profound purposes: giving shape to a thought and turning an intuition into a possibility. This is the starting point for a journey devoted to drawing as gesture, as an exercise in observation, and as the first expression of every creative process.
From Michelangelo’s Vision to the Act of Drawing
Michelangelo’s design for the San Lorenzo façade belongs to Florence’s extraordinary history, in which art, architecture, and craftsmanship are in constant conversation. Although the façade he envisioned was never completed, his drawings preserve the full force of an idea. On paper, lines and proportions become the space where something that doesn’t yet exist can be imagined, studied, and, at least in theory, built.
Discovering the Symbols of Florence
Building on this idea, Pineider invited clients, select partners, and guests of International Motors Firenze to take part in an experience devoted to the city and its symbols, led by Florentine illustrator Alice Campanini. The journey invited participants to rediscover Florence through drawing, with a special focus on the tradition of botanical illustration. Among the chosen subjects was a symbol deeply tied to the city: the iris. A fixture of Florentine imagery for centuries, the flower became the starting point for a workshop in which participants observed, sketched, and interpreted nature with their own hands.
Pencil, Paper, and Time
The experience created for BIAF brings something essential back to the center: the pleasure of making things by hand. It’s an approach that runs through centuries of Florentine culture and still finds its place today. For Pineider, telling the story of Florence also means this: rediscovering a culture of making in which beauty isn’t just the end result, but lives in every step of the process. In the paper, in the pencil, in the hand. In the time spent observing, imagining, and creating.