Blockbuster exhibitions at National Gallery thanks to the Italian art
Filippo Poletti
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Not all exhibitions need the hype. Italian Renaissance masters always guarantee large crowds. The National Gallery knows this very well. From March 15th through June 25th, it will display paintings, drawings, sculptures, and letters documenting correspondences between Michelangelo and Sebastiano del Piombo.
MICHELANGELO AND SEBASTIANO AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Michelangelo and Sebastiano became friends in Rome in 1511, while Michelangelo was completing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Since then, they began to collaborate artistically, in which their partnership lasted 25 years.
Central to the exhibition are two of their collaborations: the ‘Pietà’ for S. Francesco in Viterbo (c.1512–16) and ‘The Raising of Lazarus’, painted for the Cathedral of Narbonne in France, which is one of the foundational works in the National Gallery Collection.
LEONARDO SHOW VISITOR NUMBERS CAPPED IN 2011
It’s not the first – and definitely will not be the last – Italian show hosted in the UK. ‘Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan’, was the most complete display of the artist’s career, held at the National Gallery from 9 November 2011 to 5 February 2012. By bringing together international loans, the exhibition was considered an exhibition of the century. This was also something that was never seen before in the UK.
Works on display included ‘La Belle Ferronière’ (Musée du Louvre, Paris), the ‘Madonna Litta’ (Hermitage, Saint Petersburg) and ‘Saint Jerome’ (Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome). London's National Gallery wanted to limit visitor numbers to prevent large crowds. Admissions were fixed at 180 people every half hour, which is 50 fewer than the gallery is legally allowed to let in.
BLOCKBUSTER EXHIBITION WITH RENAISSANCE ARTISTS
Once again the National Gallery is betting on the Italian Renaissance.
The exhibition will display the exceptional loan of Michelangelo’s 'The Risen Christ' (1514–15) from the Church of S. Vincenzo Martire in Bassano Romano, Italy, and a cutting-edge recreation of the Borgherini Chapel in S. Pietro in Montorio, Rome – decorated by Sebastiano to partial designs by Michelangelo.
Success is guaranteed for a show that features the finest paintings and drawings by Leonardo and his peers, isn’t it?
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