Welcome to The Director’s Cut, an interactive column featuring fashion, beauty and career advice from RGNN Director and Founder, @isabelevabohrer.
Bulgari is celebrating artisanal luxury at its finest, and specifically, the 75th anniversary of the Serpenti collection. For this special occasion, the Italian Maison has joined forces with the prestigious Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum for a three-part immersive experience in the history of the Serpenti icon.
Travel back in time: Bulgari and art history
To start the visit, the Thyssen museum recommends sixteen paintings related to the topics and references that define Bulgari’s singularity. You can find these paintings marked by a star throughout various rooms in the museum – can you spot the serpent in some of them?
Serpenti: 75 Years of Infinite Tales
Then, make your way to the Sala Rodin, the Thyssen’s special exhibition space, where you’ll enter the world of Serpenti: 75 Years of Infinite Tales. At once an ornament and a talisman, the serpent motif appears across civilizations and eras, inspiring some of history’s most enduring legends and myths.
Bulgari’s first Serpenti creation originated in 1948, and was inspired by the jewels Cleopatra used to wear more than 2,000 years ago. In fact, on the set of the 1963 film Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor as the Egyptian queen turned Bulgari into a household name thanks to a serpent-inspired watch she fell in love with.
“The only word Elizabeth [Taylor] knows in Italian is Bulgari.”
– Richard Burton used to say of his wife [Elizabeth Taylor], known for her ensuing love of the brand (not to mention jewels and diamonds in general!)
Since then, the motif continues to evolve and inspire Bulgari, with the Maison adorning today’s celebrities, including Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and more.
Two special jewelry pieces were created solely for the exhibition at the Thyssen: a necklace, valued at two million Euros and already reserved by a non-disclosed buyer for one million Euros, and matching earrings valued at 300,000 Euros (still looking for a buyer!). Both pieces represent the connection between Rome and Madrid, and specifically, the aquamarines, tanzanites and sapphires embody the blue skies of the Spanish capital.
Refik Anadol x Bulgari
Last but not least, head to the museum’s garden. To pay homage to the inexhaustible creativity of the Serpenti collection, Bulgari invited award-winning media artist and director Refik Anadol to create an artwork inspired by the concept of metamorphosis, embodied by the Maison’s most coveted icon. After its success in Piazza del Duomo in Milan in 2021, followed by the Saatchi Gallery in London last November, Anadol’s installation has now made its way to Madrid.
And its success is no surprise. The digital installation celebrates the beauty of nature through the reprocessing and transformation of algorithm-processed data. Be sure to wear something cute – you’ll want to take a lot of selfies here, the artificial intelligence experience is stunning!
Plan your visit
Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
Paseo del Prado, 8, 28014 Madrid, Spain.
- From February 17, 2023 to April 16, 2023.
- Monday from 12.00 to 16.00. Free access (last entry time at 15.45).
- From Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 19.00. Included in the museum ticket (last access at 18.45).
- On Saturdays the installation Serpenti by Refik Anadol will remain open until 21:00 (included in the museum ticket. Last access at 20.45). All other sections will be closed.
Buy tickets here: museothyssen.org
A special thank you to Bulgari for inviting us to this beautiful event.
Questions or comments? Follow me on IG @isabelevabohrer or TikTok and say hi! See you soon!
