Article cover
Essay

Open Access

The Florentine Mostra d’Arte Germanica of 1933: Exhibiting the Art of Nazi Germany in Fascist Italy

Laura Moure Cecchini

Published online:

4. September 2026

Abstract

The Mostra d’Arte Germanica (Exhibition of German Art), a show of more than 300 paintings, sculptures, drawings, etchings, and medals by German artists aligned with Nazism, opened in Florence in November 1933. Although it was open for just over a month, the Mostra was the very first international showcase of the art of Nazi Germany, even if it opened at a moment when relations between Hitler and Mussolini were still warming. As I will argue in this article, the Mostra catalyzed Italian-German debates around the involvement of artists within the totalitarian state, and how art should articulate national, racial, and political identity. By exploring this little-studied exhibition and its ideological ramifications, I will show that the Nazi-Fascist political and diplomatic dialogue was crucial for the development of Fascist and Nazi art, and that contemporary art played a key role as a form of ‘soft’ diplomacy between these two regimes.

Other articles in this issue:

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte Issues

Volume 89 (2026)
Volume 88 (2025)
Volume 87 (2024)
Volume 86 (2023)
Volume 85 (2022)
Volume 84 (2021)
Volume 83 (2020)
Volume 82 (2019)
Volume 81 (2018)
Volume 80 (2017)
Volume 79 (2016)

Get instant, unlimited access to this journal

Related titles

Would you like to receive monthly information about new publications and events?

DKV
EUR
English

Deutscher Kunstverlag

Genthiner Straße 13

10785 Berlin

+49 (0)30 / 27 90 76 - 0

Neumarkter Straße 28

81673 München

Contact us for book orders