World Culture: Exhibition «Roma Aeterna. Masterpieces of the Vatican Pinacotheca. Bellini, Raphael, Caravaggio" in Moscow

The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow) from November 25, 2016 to February 19, 2017 presents a unique project "Roma Aeterna. Masterpieces of the Vatican Pinacotheca. Bellini, Raphael, Caravaggio": for the first time the Vatican Museums shows in Russia the better part of its collection - masterpieces of XII-XVIII centuries, including works by Giovanni Bellini, Melozzo da Forlì, Perugino, Raphael, Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Guercino, Nicolas Poussin. The exhibition features 42 paintings. Never before Vatican Museums, which are one of the ten largest global gatherings, did not take out of its limits at the same time such a large number of outstanding works from the permanent exhibition, so that the exhibition will be an event not only for Russia and Europe, but also for the whole world.  

«Roma Aeterna…» - part of a larger project: in 2017 in Vatican will be held a reciprocal exhibition, a substantial part of its exhibits constitute works of Russian art from the Gospels from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The task of the show is to present collection and Pinacotheca, the section of the Vatican Museums, and the spirit of Rome, the great city.

Each work presented at the exhibition is exclusive. It begins with a very rare specimen of the Roman school of the XII century, the image of "Christ Blessing", never before exhibited in temporary exhibitions and limits absent from the Vatican. It is an ancient and great work, which is close to the Byzantine art, and it is also interesting that detects the common roots of Italian and Russian art. For this, the storing memory of the unity of Christianity to the schism should be in work Margaritone d'Arezzo "St. Francis of Assisi" (XIII century). It was included in all textbooks on the history of art and valuable because it is one of the earliest depictions of the saint, who played an important role in the history of the Western Church. It was that name which was chosen by the current Pope, Francis and became the first in the history of the Vatican. It is also featured works of Gothic masters, very few in the Russian collections. Among them - "Jesus before Pilate" by Pietro Lorenzetti, peculiarly reminiscent of the famous painting by Nikolai Ge. 

The current exhibition is the largest in recent years and an unprecedented international project of the State Tretyakov Gallery.