18 June - 10 September 1999
The thirteenth edition of this historic event was staged by the Rome Ente Esposizione Nazionale Quadriennale d'Arte (National Quadrennial Art Exhibition Authority).
The exhibition offered a cross-section of current artistic trends in Italy, following on and, in some ways completing, the panorama provided by the preceding Quadrennial in 1996, dedicated to the "Latest generations".
The Invitations Commission, who selected the participating artists, identified five areas of study for the exhibition itinerary: "Persistence of figuration (Persistenza della figurazione)", "Abstraction (Astrazione)", "Painting post painting: Transavanguardia, refined painting, conceptual and media art (La pittura dopo la pittura: Transavanguardia, pittura colta, pittura concettuale e medialismo)", "New Technologies and new materials (Nuove tecnologie e nuovi materiali)".
The works were all created in the previous four years, and many were exhibited for the first time. The works on display included works by Pietro Consagra, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Titina Maselli, Mimmo Rotella, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Marco Gastini, Luca Patella, Giosetta Fioroni, Enzo Cucchi, Mimmo Paladino, Giuseppe Gallo, Loris Cecchini, Marco Samorè, Enrica Borghi, Giulia Caira, and Marco Vaglieri. All artists who participated in the previous Quadrennial were excluded from invitation.
The exhibition was organized by the Invitations Commission headed by Floriano De Santi and composed of Marco Di Capua, Francesco Poli, Elena Pontiggia, and Claudio Spadoni. The Awards Commission was composed of Floriano De Santi, Daniel Abadie, Vittorio Sgarbi, and Tommaso Trini.