Titian, Lotto, Crivelli and Guercino. Masterpieces of the Pinacoteca of Ancona

The ground floor rooms of Palazzo dei Conservatori at the Capitoline Museums host a selection of extraordinary works from the Pinacoteca Civica “Francesco Podesti” in Ancona. The exhibition project, born on the occasion of the Jubilee, allows us to rediscover some masterpieces of the Renaissance and Baroque through six canvases of great artistic value - including five large altarpieces and a small and precious tempera on wood - which testify to the wealth of the city that commissioned the greatest Italian artists between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Curated by Luigi Gallo and Ilaria Miarelli Mariani, the exhibition anticipates the renovation works of the Pinacoteca Podesti, with which the aim is to restore to the city of the Marche the leading role it has had in the history of Italian art. All the works on display span centuries of sacred art and tell the story of Ancona’s role as a crossroads of artistic influences during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

One of the most important works on display is certainly the majestic Gozzi Altarpiece by Tiziano Vecellio (1488/1490-1576). Created in 1520 for the church of San Francesco ad Alto in Ancona, the painting marks a crucial moment in Titian's career: in this first signed and dated altarpiece, the young painter translates the monumental language of the Venetian Renaissance into an intensely narrative and dynamic vision. At the centre of the composition, the Virgin and Child appears suspended on a cloud, surrounded by angels who seem to enhance the divine majesty of the figure. On the sides, Saint Francis and Saint Blaise introduce a dialogue between the sacred and the patron Luigi Gozzi, portrayed with extraordinary realism. The backdrop, dominated by the view of Venice, Vecellio's hometown, becomes an ideal bridge to Ancona, highlighting the latter's role as a cultural and artistic crossroads of the Adriatic sea. In the exhibition, one can admire the Circumcision from the church of San Francesco ad Alto, a work by Olivuccio Ciccarello (?-1439), the main interpreter of the renewal of Ancona painting that flourished between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; the precious Madonna with Child by Carlo Crivelli (1430?-1495), emblem of the Doric collection and one of the highest achievements of the Venetian painter who lived and worked in the Marche; the Altarpiece of the Alabarda by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556/1557), for the church of Sant’Agostino, in which the monumental layout harks back to the long tradition of Venetian “sacred conversations” where, as in other works by the great Venetian painter, the symmetry is broken by the variety of attitudes. Also by Titian, the imposing Crucifixion created for the church of San Domenico is exhibited, in which the artist explores tragedy and human suffering; the sensation that one gets from it is in fact that of a dramatic chorality, increased by the converging lines that underline the focal points, while all around the groups of figures create a whirling movement. The tour ends with the Immaculate Conception by Guercino (1591-1666), in which the delicate figure of the Virgin stands out against a seascape whose model could be the bay of Ancona.

The choice to exhibit these works at the Capitoline Museums is not accidental: the Pinacoteca Podesti, custodian of this precious heritage, ideally dialogues with the Capitoline collection, which preserves masterpieces by the same authors.

Promoted by Roma Capitale, Department of Culture, Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, with the patronage of Jubilee 2025 - Department for Evangelization, the exhibition is organized by Arthemisia in collaboration with the Municipality of Ancona, Ancona Cultura, Pinacoteca Civica di Ancona, Regione Marche and Palazzo Ducale di Urbino - Regional Directorate of National Museums of the Marche. Museum services by Zètema Progetto Cultura.

Photo: Photo: Tiziano Vecellio, Gozzi Altarpiece (1520), detail