Art news

MICHELANGELO’S THREE PIETA’ SCULPTURES GO ON DISPLAY TOGETHER

The three Pietà sculptures by Renaissance master Michelangelo have gone on display together for the first time in an exhibition at the Museo Opera del Duomo in Florence, from 24 February until 1 August. The exhibition comprises the newly-restored original Bandini Pietà, from Florence’s cathedral museum, along with the casts of the Pietà in St Peter’s and the Rondanini Pietà from the Vatican Museums. The show is titled Le Tre Pietà di Michelangelo: Non vi si pensa quanto sangue costa (“We do not think of how much blood it costs”), a reference to a verse in the Paradiso canticle of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

The three marble works are on display as part of the Mediterranean, Frontier of Peace 2022 event which saw the participation of religious and civil institutions who met on 27 February to discuss issues affecting the Mediterranean region. Organisers say the display will allow viewers to study the evolution of Michelangelo’s art, as well as “his spiritual maturation”, over a period of more than 50 years.

The St Peter’s Pietà dates to 1498–1499 and was completed when Michelangelo was aged just 24. The world-renowned work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. Michelangelo worked on the Bandini Pietà, also called The Deposition or The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, between 1547 and 1555 when he was in his 70s. It depicts Jesus after his descent from the cross, supported by the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and an aged Nicodemus, who bears a resemblance to Michelangelo. The artist sculpted the Rondanini Pietà, his final work, from 1552 until the last days of his life, in 1564. The marble statue, which was left unfinished, is on display today at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco. It depicts the mourning Virgin Mary struggling to hold the upright body of Jesus close to hers.

The exhibition is curated by Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums; Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo del Novecento in Milan; Claudio Salsi, superintendent of Castello Sforzesco; and Timothy Verdon, director of the Opera del Duomo. After the Florence exhibition comes to an end, the three works will go on display in the autumn at Palazzo Reale in Milan.

ROME’S PALAZZO BONAPARTE REOPENS

There is good news for Rome’s art scene with the reopening of Palazzo Bonaparte, an important exhibition space in the city centre, with several major shows lined up in 2022. Located in the heart of the capital, where Via del Corso meets Piazza Venezia, the newly-restored venue launched a few months before Italy was struck by the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

Palazzo Bonaparte opened in late 2019 with an exhibition of lesser-known Impressionist works by artists including Monet, Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin. There was also a parallel Lego show for children. However within months of its launch the venue shut its doors to the public and, with the exception of a five-day opening at the start of summer 2020, it has remained closed ever since. Palazzo Bonaparte reopens in March with two new exhibitions: one dedicated to American video artist Bill Viola, the other to Italian sculptor Jago. (See Exhibitions page 32). Palazzo Bonaparte is also scheduled to host a Van Gogh exhibition this October.

Owned by Generali Italia, Italy’s largest insurance company, Palazzo Bonaparte is run in partnership with the Italian firm Arthemisia which organises large-scale exhibitions. Designed by 17th-century architect Giovanni Antonio De Rossi, Palazzo Bonaparte is best known as the home of Maria Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon’s mother, who watched the world go by from the building’s green balcony from 1818 until her death in 1836.

Palazzo Bonaparte reopens its doors after two years.