The Coccodrillo team once again returned to Florence this month, to visit the FERRAGAMO CRÉATIONS showroom for Fall Winter 2011-12. Finding a luxurious spare hour one morning, we ventured across the cobblestones to the Palazzo Vecchio, where DAMIEN HIRST‘s infamous diamond skull “For the love of God” currently resides.

Ushered alone into the velvet-draped ‘Camera of Duca Cosimo’ within the (usually off-limits) ‘Studiolo of Francesco I de Medici’, punters are offered three minutes with Hirst’s skull, sparkling in a heavy perspex cube atop a black plinth.

An intense aura surrounds the skull – an object bound to evoke mixed emotions in many who stand in its presence. This is not for any sure amount of artistic prowess or a unique creativity, but more for it’s impeccable craftsmanship, punishing opulence (8,601 flawless diamonds) and overwhelmingly high net value (more than €55m).

Whether or not you approve of this controversial icon we urge you to seek it out at least once in your life, in order to witness one of the most poignant examples of contemporary art straining its own limits to breaking point.

“For the love of God” continues at the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence until May 1, 2011.

Above: Salone dei Cinquecento, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.

Above: A ceiling of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.

NOTE: In 2010, Damien unveiled a second project, “For Heaven’s Sake” – a baby’s skull in the same style encrusted in pink diamonds.

Tags: Damien Hirst, Firenze, Florence

This entry was posted on Friday, April 1st, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Exhibitions, Ferragamo Créations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.