In Cuneo masterpieces by Lorenzo Lotto and Pellegrino Tibaldi for Loreto

From November 25, 2023 to March 17, 2024, Fondazione CRC and Intesa Sanpaolo present the exhibition Lorenzo Lotto and Pellegrino Tibaldi. Masterpieces from the Holy House of Loreto, curated by Vito Punzi, director Museo Pontificio Santa Casa di Loreto, with organizational support from MondoMostre.

On display will be seven paintings by Lorenzo Lotto (Venice, 1480 - Loreto, 1556), which form the painter’s so-called “Lauretan cycle,” arranged when he was still alive at the Chapel of the Choir of the church of Santa Maria di Loreto, and two frescoes torn and brought to canvas by Pellegrino Tibaldi (Puria, 1527 - Milan, 1596), originally made for the Chapel of San Giovanni in the same Loreto church. All nine works on display come from the Museo Pontificio Santa Casa in Loreto.

Of particular note among Lotto’s works on display are St. Michael drives out Lucifer, presented to the public for the first time after a restoration that was completed in September this year, and theAdoration of the Child, restored as part of Restituzioni 2016, the program to safeguard and enhance the country’s heritage promoted and curated by Intesa Sanpaolo.

The exhibition project intends to offer itself as an opportunity to point to new avenues of research regarding possible mutual influences between Lotto and Tibaldi, two artists of different cultures, given the brief period shared by the two in the Lauretan workshop, which has only recently been investigated. A glance at the bibliography related to the works created by Pellegrino Tibaldi for the Sanctuary of the Holy House and his presence in Loreto between 1554 and 1555 gives the possibility to notice immediately how this, although sufficiently rich, does not present specific studies on the co-presence in those same years in the Lauretan worksite of Lorenzo Lotto.

The tour will also highlight the still relevant presence in Piedmont of artifacts testifying to widespread Marian-Laurean devotion. In fact, a section will propose a territorial mapping of the most significant artifacts with the indication of a useful itinerary for visitors who wish to integrate and deepen their experience at the exhibition. Overall, there are more than eighty artifacts in churches, oratories, shrines and chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto in the region, and in the province of Cuneo alone there are more than fifteen. According to tradition, the Shrine of Loreto stands on the site where, on December 10, 1294, the Virgin Mary’s dwelling was miraculously transported by Angels. In memory of this event, the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Loreto is celebrated every year. In fact, many depictions of Our Lady of Loreto, many churches named after her and representations of the translation of the Holy House can be found in Piedmont.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by MondoMostre edited by Vito Punzi.

A rich program of guided tours, workshop activities and collateral events, including in the province, is also planned.

Image: Pellegrino Tibaldi, Preaching of the Baptist (1553-1555; torn fresco, 250 x 302 cm; Loreto, Museo Pontificio Santa Casa) © Pontifical Delegation Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto.

In Cuneo masterpieces by Lorenzo Lotto and Pellegrino Tibaldi for Loreto

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