Florence Comes to Lakeland: The Medici Dynasty Exhibition Lands at the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum

Mid-December Opening Brings a Slice of Renaissance Italy to Florida Southern College

The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College will open The Medici Dynasty: Renaissance in Florence on Dec. 13, 2025, inviting visitors into a focused look at one of history’s most powerful family networks. The show runs through mid-March 2026 and is staged on the college campus in Lakeland, transforming the museum’s galleries into a compact tour of Florence at the height of the Renaissance.

This exhibition is built around the story of the Medici as patrons: bankers, politicians and collectors who used art to shape taste and power. Curators promise a narrative that moves from private devotion to public display, with works arranged to show how commissions, gifts and ducal pomp created a new visual language. For local visitors, the angle is easy to grasp: the show aims to connect big-name Renaissance artists and familiar themes — faith, wealth and civic pride — to everyday acts of collecting and display.

Selected Masterworks and the Threads That Tie Them Together

The exhibition folds together paintings, sculpture, drawings and decorative objects. Organizers say several important loans arrive from European institutions and private collections, providing pieces rarely seen outside Italy. Expect painted altarpieces and devotional panels alongside sculptural fragments and portraiture that emphasize the Medici’s role as both believers and image-makers.

Highlights include intimate devotional works that show how households prayed; portraits that trace family identity across generations; and examples of courtly splendor meant to impress visitors and rivals. The curators have grouped pieces to show three themes: faith and ritual, family power and public patronage. That organization keeps the show compact and story-driven rather than a loose assortment of famous names.

One of the exhibition’s strengths is its use of drawings and archival images to show how artists and patrons worked together. These documents give a sense of process — sketches, design studies and letters — so visitors see the human decisions behind a finished work. The result is less a wall of masterpieces and more a behind-the-scenes look at how taste and influence were built in Renaissance Florence.

What This Exhibition Means for Florida Southern College and the Museum

For Florida Southern College, hosting a Medici show is a statement. The museum has been building a reputation for ambitious borrowing and tight, theme-driven exhibitions that punch above their size. This project ties directly to the college’s educational mission: classes and faculty across disciplines can use the show as a hands-on resource for art, history and even economics courses.

The exhibition also marks a step up in the museum’s partnerships. Securing loans from European lenders signals trust and growing capacity for the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum to handle fragile, high-profile works. That track record helps the museum attract future loans and larger-scale projects, and it gives students rare access to material most undergraduates don’t see in person.

Plan Your Visit: When to Go and What to Expect

The show opens Dec. 13, 2025, and runs through mid-March 2026. The museum will have extended hours on some weekends and a schedule of guided gallery talks, curator-led tours and a public lecture series timed to the run. Tickets are available at the museum box office and through advance sales; the museum is offering discounts for students, faculty and residents, and memberships include priority access to special events.

Accessibility and visitor comfort are part of the plan: galleries are wheelchair-accessible, and the layout keeps viewing lines short to protect fragile works. The museum says it follows standard conservation and safety practices for loans. Expect timed entries for peak days to keep galleries calm and to protect the artworks.

Local Ripples: Education, Tourism and a Cultural Lift for Lakeland

Beyond art history, the show is a modest economic play. A well-curated exhibition of this scale typically draws regional visitors and feeds nearby restaurants and hotels. The museum’s programming includes school visits, a teacher resource packet and community workshops designed to widen access — moves that can extend the show’s impact beyond the galleries.

Curators and college leaders see the exhibition as a way to raise the museum’s profile and to create repeat cultural traffic for downtown Lakeland. If the Medici project runs smoothly, it could position the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum as a reliable stop for future touring shows and a stronger civic partner for arts and education in the region.

Sources

• prnewswire.com