Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome at the National Gallery of Canada

Immerse yourself in 16th-century Rome’s fascinating cultural and political history when you read the exhibition catalogue of From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and presented by Sun Life Financial, the exhibition is on view until September 7, 2009.

raphael1Written by a team of international experts, this catalogue highlights considerable new research and discoveries in Italian Renaissance art history that are being published for the first time. It reveals a period that was as event-filled and dramatic as any in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The popes who reigned from 1503 to 1605, were as respected, feared, and, even as corrupt as other European family dynasties and favored the talent of celebrated masters such as Raphael, Michelangelo, Salviati, and Vasari. Through their enlightened patronage, not only did they further the belief system of the Roman Catholic Church but they also reshaped the cultural and political landscape of Rome transforming it into the cultural capital of Europe for over three centuries.

This beautifully-illustrated, 482-page book includes 378 images and is co-authored by David Franklin, NGC Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Ingrid D. Rowland, author of The Culture of the High Renaissance (Cambridge), Sebastian Schütze, Professor of Art History and Bader Chair in Southern Baroque Art, Department of Art at Queen’s University, and Carlo Gasparri, Professor of Archeology at the University of Naples. Contributions were also made by more than 40 international scholars. The foreword is by Marc Mayer, Director of the NGC.

carlo-saraceni
Carlo Saraceni (c. 1580–1620), Venus and Mars, c. 1600. Oil on copper. Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, on loan at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

Rich in content, its four essays illustrate the themes of the exhibition: From Raphael to Carracci: An introduction, by David Franklin; Art and art patronage in 16th-century papal Rome: patterns and intentions, by Sebastian Schütze; Rome restored: villas, collections, and gardens of antiquities in 16th-century Rome, by Carlo Gasparri; and Sixteenth-century Rome: the birth of a cultural capital, by Ingrid D. Rowland. Available in hard cover only, the From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome catalogue is on sale in English and French at a cost of $75.00 (CDN) at the National Gallery of Canada Bookstore or online at www.shopngc.ca.

For more information about the exhibition, visit www.gallery.ca/raphael

About the National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada is home to the most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art in the world. In addition, it has pre-eminent collections of Indigenous, Western and European Art from the 14th to the 21st century, American and Asian Art as well as drawings and photography. Created in 1880, it is among the oldest of Canada’s national, cultural institutions. As part of its mandate to make Canadian art accessible across the country, the NGC has one of the largest touring exhibition programs in the world.

Top Image: Raphael (1483–1520), Portrait of Bindo Altoviti, c. 1515. Oil on panel, 59.7 × 43.8 cm. Samuel H. Kress Collection. Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Art, Washington