in collaboration with under the patronage of Press kit media partner 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 pro- moting 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 res- torations 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. in collaboration with under the patronage of media partner Press office Info Silvia Macchetto Tuesday - Sunday, 10am - 7pm [email protected] Closed on Monday tel. +39 340 6350241 Tickets Lingotto € 10 full ticket via Nizza 230/103 € 8 reduction for groups, over65, conventions 10126 Torino € 4 reduction for schools, 6 - 16 years tel. + 39 011 0062713 free ticket for people with disabilities, www.pinacoteca-agnelli.it 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 in collaboration with under the patronage of media partner 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 in collaboration with under the patronage of media partner 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 mas- ter’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 mar- vellous 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, recov- ering 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 ac- cepted; 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. in collaboration with under the patronage of media partner The setting project by Marco Palmieri The concept of the exhibition stems from the desire to create a custom made space around Raffaello’sMadonna 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. in collaboration with under the patronage of media partner Fondazione Pinacoteca Raffaello: la Madonna Attività Educative del Lingotto Giovanni del Divino Amore Educational Activities e Marella Agnelli Beatrice Zanelli, Ersilia Rossini Fondatori Founders 17 marzo - 28 giugno 2015 Realizzazione Allestimento Giovanni Agnelli 17th March - 28th June 2015 Display Production Marella Caracciolo Agnelli Bond Srl Margaret Agnelli De Pahlen Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli John Elkann Allestimento a parete opere Hanging Lapo Elkann Mostra in collaborazione tra Attitudine Forma Srl Ginevra Elkann Exhibition in collaboration with Paolo Fresco Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli e Traduzioni Translations Gianluigi Gabetti Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Jennifer Cooke Francesca Gentile Camerana Storico Artistico Etnoantropologico e per Franzo Grande Stevens il Polo Museale della Città di Napoli Realizzazione Video Alessandro Nasi e della Reggia di Caserta Video Concept and Production Art Media Studio, Firenze Comitato Direttivo A cura di Curated by Regia Direction Vincenzo Capalbo Board of Directors Fabrizio Vona, già Soprintendente e Marilena Bertozzi former Superintendent Presidente Onorario Angela Cerasuolo Trasporti Transports Honorary President Patrizia Piscitello Arterìa, LP Art, Marella Caracciolo Agnelli Marina Santucci HS Art Service Austria Presidente President