Press kit - Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli

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Press release 16th February 2015
Raphael: the Madonna of Divine Love
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli
17th March - 28th June 2015
press preview 16th March 2015, 11.30am
The Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli and the Soprintendenza speciale per il Polo Museale della città di
Napoli e della Reggia di Caserta are glad to present the extraordinary unprecedented exhibition in Turin of
Raphael’s Madonna of Divine Love.
The past years saw some important shows devoted to Raphael, focusing on the different periods of this painter’s
artistic course. From 2004-05 National Gallery exhibition, to the one on the young Raphael in Urbino (2009),
to the very recent shows devoted to the late Raphael at the Prado Museum (2012) and at the Louvre (2013), and
there have been many occasions for study, research and criticism.
Another important event – according to Fabrizio Vona, former Superintendent of the Polo Museale di Napoli
– once again brings Pinacoteca Agnelli and the Museum of Capodimonte together in a joint programme promoting our valuable art and culture heritage, a cooperation we hope may continue in the future.
The Capodimonte Museum has taken part with its paintings to these events, carrying out some important restorations and examination campaigns that have significantly contributed to the understanding of Raphael’s
complex and fascinating creative path, and namely regarding the well-known Madonna of Divine Love.
A wealth of knowledge on the painter’s creative process and technique has thus been collected, only partially
explained in the largest monographic shows.
The exhibition at the Pinacoteca Agnelli offers the chance to fully assess the results of these studies, and,
through the use of digital media showing the reflectographic analyses, examine – also for the public at large –
the painting inner structure and the artist’s numerous variations and pentimenti throughout the making of this
work, in close connection with drawings and preparatory sketches by the Urbino-born master from the foremost
European graphic collections, such as two from the Albertina in Vienna and one from Lille Museum of Fine Arts.
During the exhibition the Education Department provides a series of activities and workshops for children
and adults.
Marco Palmieri has designed the exhibition’s layout, the catalogue was published by Corraini Edizioni.
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Press office
Silvia Macchetto
[email protected]
tel. +39 340 6350241
Lingotto
via Nizza 230/103
10126 Torino
tel. + 39 011 0062713
www.pinacoteca-agnelli.it
Info
Tuesday - Sunday, 10am - 7pm
Closed on Monday
Tickets
€ 10 full ticket
€ 8 reduction for groups, over65, conventions
€ 4 reduction for schools, 6 - 16 years
free ticket for people with disabilities,
children 0 - 6 years and Torino+Piemonte Card
Raffaello Sanzio and workshop
Madonna del Divino Amore
Oil on board, cm 140 x 109
Naples, Museo di Capodimonte
Farnese collection, inv. Q 146
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LIST OF WORKS
Raffaello Sanzio and workshop
Madonna of Divine Love
Oil on board
Naples, Capodimonte Museum,
Farnese collection, inv. Q 146
Raffaello Sanzio
St. Joseph on the right side
(study for the Madonna of Divine Love)
Red pencil
Vienna, Albertina, inv. 235
Marcantonio Raimondi
Madonna with Child, St. Elizabeth and St. John
Copper engraving
Vienna, Albertina, inv. DG1970/300
Raffaello Sanzio
Study for a Madonna with Child
Metalpoint on rose tinted paper
Lille, Musée des Beaux-Arts, inv. PL 454
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The Madonna of Divine Love
summary
Giorgio Vasari in the Life of Raphael had listed the Madonna of Divine Love amongst the best works of the master’s Roman period, made for Leonello Pio da Carpi Lord of Meldola and then passed on to his son, Cardinal
Rodolfo.
Acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1565 after Rodolfo Pio’s death, it remained for almost a century
– admired and repeatedly copied – in Rome in Palazzo Farnese, where it was once again mentioned in 1644
inventory, before being transferred to Parma in 1662 in the picture gallery of Palazzo del Giardino, and it
then arrived in Naples after 1734 with Charles of Bourbon, who had inherited the collection of his mother
Elisabetta Farnese.
The recent restoration of the Madonna of Divine Love (2012) and the campaign of scientific examination that
preceded it have cast a new light on the quality of its executions and the painting refined composition, which
was the result of a thought-out elaboration process certainly carried out by Raphael.
The work’s authorship, long considered one of the master’s masterpieces, had been questioned by most critics
since the end of the 19th century.
The painting fortune had been greatly influenced by the presence in Capodimonte of another large drawing
in scale with the panel, coming from Fulvio Orsini’s collection, attributed to Giovan Francesco Penni, believed
to be the preparatory cartoon for the painting, which has led some critics to ascribe to his disciple the work’s
invention as well. But recently carried out research has clarified beyond doubt that it is a copy on paper taken
from the painting and not a preparatory cartoon for its execution.
The reflectography has revealed on the panel an extremely elaborate and creative preparatory drawing, surely
due to the master’s hand, and some substantial amendments made in the composition during the pictorial
execution, attesting the painting authorship, already celebrated by Vasari in enthusiastic terms: «most marvellous in colouring, and of a singular beauty,» «painted with such force, and also with a delicacy so pleasing,
that I do not think it is possible to do better.»
The restoration has shown the quality of the brushstrokes and the painting good state of preservation, recovering its refined colours and freeing the Madonna’s mantle from old repaintings distorting its volume. After
restoration, the Madonna of Divine Love was displayed in the exhibition devoted to late Raphael (Prado, June
September 2012 – Louvre, September 2012 - January 2013), where the attribution to Raphael was basically accepted; as for the painting dating, that used to be placed in Raphael’s last years of activity, after 1518, we now
concur on an earlier date, around 1516.
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The setting
project by Marco Palmieri
The concept of the exhibition stems from the desire to create a custom made space around Raffaello’s Madonna
del Divino Amore, shaping the surroundings starting from the painting itself.
The theme is that of maternal love, a Divine Love. Two women, a young one and an aging one, the Virgin Mary
and Saint Elisabeth, are looking over two children who are interacting with each-other. The only adult male,
Saint Joseph, is seen distant in the background.
The setting where the painting is exhibited is dark yet welcoming much like a mother’s womb, accessible
through a single entrance: a long corridor which from a brightly lit external space leads into the internal room
where the painting is shown.
The stark contrast in lighting, from brightness to a dim light, invites the eye of the spectators to adapt to the
painting, which is the only element that is lit in the internal room, thus appearing like a true vision.
The Madonna del Divino Amore is set frameless inside a niche. Right in front of it there is a basement, which sets
a distance, protects it and summons the sacred nature of an altar.
The whole space is shaped like a dodecagon, a regular polygon whose geometry was a favourite of Raffaello’s.
The main wall is slanted by an angle of fifteen degrees, recalling the same torsion that is shown in the painting
by the four characters, who are also turning by the same angle away from the beholder.
Coming through the corridor and into the room the spectators therefore find the painting slightly off its frontal
axis but they will face the characters directly: by turning to face the painting they will physically experience
the same movement happening in the composition.
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Fondazione Pinacoteca
del Lingotto Giovanni
e Marella Agnelli
Raffaello: la Madonna
del Divino Amore
Attività Educative
Educational Activities
Beatrice Zanelli, Ersilia Rossini
Fondatori Founders
Giovanni Agnelli
Marella Caracciolo Agnelli
Margaret Agnelli De Pahlen
John Elkann
Lapo Elkann
Ginevra Elkann
Paolo Fresco
Gianluigi Gabetti
Francesca Gentile Camerana
Franzo Grande Stevens
Alessandro Nasi
17 marzo - 28 giugno 2015
17th March - 28th June 2015
Realizzazione Allestimento
Display Production
Bond Srl
Comitato Direttivo
Board of Directors
A cura di Curated by
Fabrizio Vona, già Soprintendente
former Superintendent
Angela Cerasuolo
Patrizia Piscitello
Marina Santucci
Presidente Onorario
Honorary President
Marella Caracciolo Agnelli
Presidente President
Ginevra Elkann
Membri Members
Gianluigi Gabetti
John Elkann
Lapo Elkann
Filippo Beraudo di Pralormo
Sergio Marchionne
Segretario Secretary
Gianluca Ferrero
Collegio Sindacale
Board of Syndics
Mario Pia, Presidente President
Luigi Demartini
Pietro Fornier
Direttrice Director
Marcella Pralormo
in collaboration with
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli
Mostra in collaborazione tra
Exhibition in collaboration with
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli e
Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio
Storico Artistico Etnoantropologico e per
il Polo Museale della Città di Napoli
e della Reggia di Caserta
Direzione Organizzativa
Director of Organisation
Marcella Pralormo
Allestimento a parete opere Hanging
Attitudine Forma Srl
Traduzioni Translations
Jennifer Cooke
Realizzazione Video
Video Concept and Production
Art Media Studio, Firenze
Regia Direction Vincenzo Capalbo
e Marilena Bertozzi
Trasporti Transports
Arterìa, LP Art,
HS Art Service Austria
Assicurazione Insurance
Willis, Kuhn & Bülow
Un vivo ringraziamento ai prestatori
delle opere in mostra e, in particolare a
A warm thank you to the lenders
of the artworks and in particular to
Progetto di Allestimento
Exhibition Design
Marco Palmieri
Immagine di Comunicazione
Communication Design
Pietro Corraini
Fabrizio Vona, Soprintendente
Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio
Storico Artistico Etnoantropologico e per
il Polo Museale della Città di Napoli
e della Reggia di Caserta
Segreteria Organizzativa Organisation
Emma Roccato
Linda Martino, Direttrice Director
Museo di Capodimonte
Bruno Girveau, Conservateur Général
du Patrimoine et directeur du Palais
des Beaux-Arts de Lille
Comunicazione e Social Media
Social Media & Communication
Anna Follo
Amministrazione Administration
Mara Abbà
Cordélia Hattori, Chargée du Cabinet
des dessins, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille
Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Direttore
Director Albertina, Vienna
Ufficio Stampa Press Office
Silvia Macchetto
Achim Gnann, Curatore Arte Italiana
Curator Italian Art Albertina, Vienna
Corporate Development Consultant
Paolo Landi
Sonja Eiböck, Organizzazione Mostre
e Prestiti Organisation of Exhibitions
and Loans Albertina, Vienna
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Catalogue
Raphael: the Madonna of Divine Love
80 pages
17 x 24 cm
ISBN 978-88-7570-490-2
price: 18 €
The Madonna of Divine Love was recalled by Giorgio Vasari in his Life of Raphael (1550) as being one of the most
beautiful works of the great painter’s Roman period. The painting, preserved in the Capodimonte Museum,
is due to arrive in Turin for the first time ever for its exceptional exhibition in the Pinacoteca Giovanni and
Marella Agnelli.
The volume that accompanies the exhibition is an up-to-date as well as exhaustive monograph on Raphael’s
masterpiece. The critical contributions by the curators Angela Cerasuolo, Marina Santucci and Patrizia Piscitello, enriched with a precious iconographic apparatus, reconstruct the historiographic events surrounding
the work in great detail, and present the results of the painting’s analysis and recent restoration, casting new
light on the genesis of this cornerstone of Renaissance art.
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Raffaello: la Madonna del Divino Amore
Raphael: the Madonna of Divine Love
Book design
Pietro Corraini
© 2015 Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino
© 2015 Maurizio Corraini s.r.l.
Tutti i diritti riservati alla Maurizio Corraini s.r.l.
All rights reserved by Maurizio Corraini s.r.l.
Nessuna parte di questo libro può essere riprodotta o trasmessa in nessuna forma e con nessun mezzo
(elettronico o meccanico, inclusi la fotocopia, la registrazione od ogni altro mezzo di ripresa delle
informazioni) senza il permesso scritto dell’editore.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information retrieval system) without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Testi a cura di Texts by
Angela Cerasuolo, Patrizia Piscitello, Marina Santucci
Traduzioni di Translations by
Jennifer Cooke
Un vivo ringraziamento ai prestatori delle opere in mostra e, in particolare a
A warm thank you to the lenders of the artworks and in particular to
il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
Albertina, Vienna
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille
Fotografie Photographs
Napoli, Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il
Polo Museale della città di Napoli e della reggia di Caserta, su concessione del Ministero dei Beni e
delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo
© RMN-Grand Palais / Jacques Quecq D’Henri Pret
© RMN-Grand Palais / Hervè Lewandowski
London, The British Museum © Trustees of the British Museum
Firenze, Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il
Polo Museale della città di Firenze, su concessione del Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e
del Turismo
L’editore e la Pinacoteca Agnelli sono a disposizione degli eventuali aventi diritto per le fonti
non individuate.
The publisher and the Pinacoteca Agnelli will be at complete disposal to whom might be related to
the unidentified sources printed in this book.
Stampato in Italia da Printed in Italy by
Arti Grafiche Castello, Viadana, (Mn)
marzo March 2015
Maurizio Corraini s.r.l.
Via Ippolito Nievo, 7/A
46100 Mantova
Tel. 0039 0376 322753
Fax 0039 0376 365566
e-mail: [email protected]
www.corraini.com
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HOW TO REACH THE PINACOTECA
For those arriving from the Airport Torino Caselle and the highways
Take the Tangenziale Sud and exit at Corso Unità d’Italia.
For those arriving by public transport
Tram and bus 1- 18- 35
Subway Line 1, lingotto stop ⋅ On the website www.gtt.to.it all the informations.
City Sightseeing stop number 5, of the Torino Inedita tour by City Sightseeing.
Parking
Free parking for three hours to visitors (sector A, B, D, L). Visitors can present the ticket at the Pinacoteca for
the obliteration. We remind all the visitors that parkings are unattended.
Access to the museum
The entrance to the gallery is located at the bookshop Corraini, inside the Lingotto building, near the UCI
Cinemas. The elevators in the bookshop lead to the 4th floor where you will find the ticket office.
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