The exhibition “Carlo Adolfo Schlatter– Artist of the Spirit,” which opens today at 6 PM in the prestigious halls of Palazzo Medici Riccardi, offers the extraordinary opportunity to rediscover the figure of Carlo Adolfo Schlatter (1873–1958), one of the most fascinating and mysterious artists of the early 20th-century Florentine scene. It will remain open to the public until February 22, 2026, establishing itself as an important event for Florence and for all those who wish to delve into the relationship between art, symbol, and spirituality. The exhibition is promoted by the Metropolitan City of Florence and organized by Fondazione MUS.E, curated by Anna Mazzanti, with scientific coordination by Valentina Zucchi, in collaboration with Casa Museo Schlatter, the School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano, and the G.P. Vieusseux Scientific Literary Cabinet.

Schlatter, a painter, engraver, philosopher, theosophist, and keen investigator of the invisible, trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, soon finding himself immersed in the city’s vibrant cultural climate. His research took shape in a context marked by a growing interest in esotericism, symbolism, and a widespread reaction to positivism. However, it is his personal history — marked by bereavements and a deep sense of disorientation — that directed him towards a vision of art as a tool for spiritual elevation. The loss of his father and brother at a young age, the change in his family status, and finally the premature death of his wife Emma Moni, led him towards Theosophy, which became the core of his artistic poetics.

The exhibition path opens with the self-portrait and the portrait of Emma, a fundamental presence in the artist’s life and imagination. It is followed by a rich selection of landscapes, which from an initial Macchiaioli style transform into interior scenarios, true allegories of the spirit; the seascapes, symbolic images of the soul’s flow and the Infinite; and a series of works built on chromatic and atmospheric contrasts, where light becomes essence, ascent, revelation. A section is dedicated to the manuscripts, illustrated books, and engravings, testimony to the profound unity between thought and image in Schlatter’s poetics.

A particularly evocative part of the exhibition recreates the atmosphere of the historic artist’s studio, located on the ground floor of his house on Viale dei Mille; it is precisely in these spaces that the Casa Museo Schlatter was born in 2019, desired and founded by his great-granddaughter. The association, officially presented at Palazzo Vecchio by councilors Cecilia Del Re and Tommaso Sacchi, aims to restore visibility, voice, and dignity to the vast artistic and philosophical heritage left by Schlatter, kept for decades in the private space of his studio. The Palazzo Medici Riccardi exhibition thus represents a fundamental step in the process of enhancing his legacy.
We at Pietre di Rapolano are among the sponsors of the exhibition: for years we have supported projects dedicated to beauty, art, and creative research; we like to promote culture as a form of responsibility, dialogue, and care for heritage.

The exhibition is not just a tribute, but a return to the light for an artist who dedicated his entire existence to uniting what is visible with what is eternal.