VATICAN CITY, 11 MAR 2008 (VIS) - "'Magnificenze Vaticane'. Masterpieces of Art from the Collections of the Fabric of St. Peter's" is the title of an exhibition due to be inaugurated this afternoon at Palazzo Incontro in Rome. It will remain open until 25 May.
The exhibition is being promoted by the Province of Rome and by the European Centre for Tourism. It includes more than 130 works on display for the first time, recovered from storage in the Vatican Basilica, restored and examined by experts. "Magnificenze Vaticane" is divided into various interrelated but autonomous sections including architecture, painting and sculpture.
"The aim of such a meticulous distinction", says a communique announcing the initiative, "is to show the plurality of interventions on a single site (the basilica of St. Peters) and to bear witness to the quality of workmanship even in fields usually held to be of lesser importance". Above all, the communique continues, the aim is to reveal "the variety and creative ability of the main figures on the Roman artistic scene who in all times - from the 14th to the 20th century - aspired to leave their mark on the Vatican Basilica".
"The papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, universally known as the centre of Christianity, houses a vast number of important monuments, the fruit of the abilities and creativity of the greatest artists of all ages. Yet before their sparks of genius were immortalised in stone or bronze, there was a phase in which the work of art was planned and assessed. The rediscovery of traces of this precious heritage of the past ... is the theme of this great and unique exhibition". The communique also recalls that the Fabric of St. Peter's was established by Julius II in 1506 to oversee the various phases of the building of the new basilica and to guarantee its subsequent maintenance.
Among the little-known works on display will be a roll of damask with the arms of Pope Alexander VII, pyramidal reliquaries by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, candelabra and crosses purchased by Pope Pius IX from the king of Naples, and a series of eighteenth-century altar hangings in silk and gold.
The 1400s are represented in the sculpture section with the Four Evangelists by Mino da Fiesole and Giovanni Dalmata, while the Baroque is present in the form of works attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Alessandro Aligardi. In the painting section, fragments and frescoes from the interior of the basilica of St. Peter's will be on display for the first time. Documents from the General Historical Archive of the Fabric signed by Benevenuto Cellini, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, Bernini and others will also be on show.
.../MAGNIFICENZE VATICANE/... VIS 20080311 (460)
The exhibition is being promoted by the Province of Rome and by the European Centre for Tourism. It includes more than 130 works on display for the first time, recovered from storage in the Vatican Basilica, restored and examined by experts. "Magnificenze Vaticane" is divided into various interrelated but autonomous sections including architecture, painting and sculpture.
"The aim of such a meticulous distinction", says a communique announcing the initiative, "is to show the plurality of interventions on a single site (the basilica of St. Peters) and to bear witness to the quality of workmanship even in fields usually held to be of lesser importance". Above all, the communique continues, the aim is to reveal "the variety and creative ability of the main figures on the Roman artistic scene who in all times - from the 14th to the 20th century - aspired to leave their mark on the Vatican Basilica".
"The papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, universally known as the centre of Christianity, houses a vast number of important monuments, the fruit of the abilities and creativity of the greatest artists of all ages. Yet before their sparks of genius were immortalised in stone or bronze, there was a phase in which the work of art was planned and assessed. The rediscovery of traces of this precious heritage of the past ... is the theme of this great and unique exhibition". The communique also recalls that the Fabric of St. Peter's was established by Julius II in 1506 to oversee the various phases of the building of the new basilica and to guarantee its subsequent maintenance.
Among the little-known works on display will be a roll of damask with the arms of Pope Alexander VII, pyramidal reliquaries by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, candelabra and crosses purchased by Pope Pius IX from the king of Naples, and a series of eighteenth-century altar hangings in silk and gold.
The 1400s are represented in the sculpture section with the Four Evangelists by Mino da Fiesole and Giovanni Dalmata, while the Baroque is present in the form of works attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Alessandro Aligardi. In the painting section, fragments and frescoes from the interior of the basilica of St. Peter's will be on display for the first time. Documents from the General Historical Archive of the Fabric signed by Benevenuto Cellini, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, Bernini and others will also be on show.
.../MAGNIFICENZE VATICANE/... VIS 20080311 (460)
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