London's National Gallery launches public fundraiser for a masterpiece by Orazio Gentileschi

#SaveOrazio is the hashtag launched by the director of the National Gallery in London, Gabriele Finaldi, to “save a masterpiece for the nation.”

The masterpiece in question is the Finding of Moses painted by Orazio Gentileschi in the early 1730s for Queen Enrichetta Maria of Bourbon, the last daughter of Henry IV of France and Mary de’ Medici and wife of King Charles I Stuart. The painting was in fact executed a few years after Horace’s arrival in London at the court of Charles I, probably to celebrate the birth of the future Charles II.

The Finding of Moses has been on loan to the Gallery since 2002 by a private collector who has a right of first refusal that will expire soon. The masterpiece is on display until the end of the year in room 31 of the museum, which is dedicated to Italian painting of the 17th century, where therefore one can admire works by Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Caravaggio, Guercino, Domenichino, Sassoferrato, Salvator Rosa and Artemisia Gentileschi. Being able to observe works by the Gentileschi father and daughter in the same room is a way to understand how Artemisia was influenced by her father’s art. Moreover, Horace’s masterpiece is the first representative work from his important London period.

The painting has been valued at £22 million, and the director of the National Gallery has launched a public online fundraising drive to reach the £2 million, missing amount needed by the end of the year to see Gentileschi’s work inside London’s famous museum forever.

Private donations can be made directly from the National Gallery’s official website.

London's National Gallery launches public fundraiser for a masterpiece by Orazio Gentileschi

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