Art Of The Day Weekly
#481 - from 13 July 2017 to 13 September 2017
Bernardino di Betto, known as Pintoricchio, Madonna, fragment from the lost fresco Divine Investiture of Alexander VI, c. 1492-1493, fresco with 17th-century frame, 39,5 x 28, 5 x 5 cm. Private Collection.
The Borgia, intimate
ROME – Does this beautiful Madonna have the features of Giulia Farnese, the young mistress of Pope Borgia Alexander VI (1492-1503)? It was believed so for centuries, based on the opinion of Vasari. The permissive and corrupt Pontiff, a great lover of art, had commissioned Pinturicchio with a cycle of frescoes that continue to decorate the Borgia apartments. One the other hand, the painting of the pope praying in front of the Madonna and her son was dismembered, as it seemed obscene to give the traits of his concubine to a divine figure. Fortunately, a conscientious painter, Pietro Fachetti, had made a copy. The fragments have been brought together in this exhibit after many centuries, and they show that this rumor of the 17th century was false information.
• Pintoricchio, pittore dei Borgia at the Musei Capitolini, from 19 May to 10 September 2017. Catalogue Gangemi, 192 p., €30.