In Perugia an exhibition dedicated to Sassoferrato

An exhibition dedicated to Giovanni Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato (Sassoferrato, 1609 - Rome, 1685): this is the one that will open its doors to the public on Saturday, April 8, in Perugia at the Tesori d’Arte Gallery in the San Pietro complex. The exhibition, entitled Sassoferrato. From the Louvre to St. Peter’s. The Reunited Collection, displays some 40 paintings by Sassoferrato and the masters who inspired his art. Notable among the works by the great Marche artist is the arrival from the Louvre of theImmaculate Conception, which was once located in St. Peter’s Abbey itself: brought to France by Napoleon’s commissioner Dominique Vivant Denon, it will be temporarily reunited with the works by Sassoferrato that remained in Perugia.

The works on view come from public and private collections throughout Europe. Also on display are works by Perugino, one of the artists Sassoferrato most looked to, and two copies of Raphael’s Borghese Deposition (the one by Cavalier d’Arpino and the one by Orazio Alfani) that will be compared with the version painted by Sassoferrato in 1639. Also on display in the itinerary are the three versions of the Madonna del Giglio.

“Faced with such works,” says Cristina Galassi, curator of the exhibition together with Vittorio Sgarbi, “scholars have legitimately wondered to what extent Sassoferrato’s painting should be considered original. In fact, and the exhibition fully confirms this, it would be wrong to consider Salvi a mere imitator, because, as Federico Zeri has keenly observed, he does not simply copy the works of the artists taken as models but always adds his own personal interpretation. This emerges clearly from the comparison between Tintoretto’s beautiful Magdalene and the version by the hand of Sassoferrato, where the turgid and almost sensual forms of the Venetian painter are re-proposed by Salvi with a drier and more tempered language.”

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the University of Perugia and the Region of Umbria, and is under the patronage of the municipality of Perugia. It is made possible thanks to the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia and the Umbria Region. Catalog edited by Aguaplano. It will remain open until October 1, 2017. For all information: www.sanpietroperugia.it.

Image: Giovanni Battista Salvi known as Sassoferrato, Immaculate Conception (1637; oil on canvas, 143 x 85 cm; Paris, Louvre)

In Perugia an exhibition dedicated to Sassoferrato

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.