The Art of the Popes. From Perugino to Barocci

The exhibition entitled The Art of the Popes. From Perugino to Barocci, which opens at Castel Sant’Angelo, curated by Arnaldo Colasanti and Annamaria Bava, presents 38 works by great artists such as Perugino, Andrea del Sarto, Annibale Carracci, Federico Barocci, ten of which - ranging from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century - come from the collection of the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca in Rome.

The exhibition aims to highlight how great artists and the commitment of the Popes together have enriched Rome, not only giving it a heritage of incomparable splendor, but also contributing significantly to that ideal of ​​a city built on the Christian idea of ​​exalting beauty, memory, tradition and the universalistic ideal of man. The exhibition is mainly thematic rather than chronological: in fact, evangelical themes such as childhood, motherhood, joy and suffering, resurrection, mercy and hope recur.

The theme of the family, for example, is represented by The Madonna with Child, Saint Joseph and Saint Peter Martyr by Andrea del Sarto, as well as the Adoration of the Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Francis by Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo. Other themes are the Adoration of the Shepherds by Luigi Crespi, the Annunciation by Carlo Maratti and the dreams of Perugino, Annibale Carracci, Pietro da Cortona, Cavalier d’Arpino, Pompeo Batoni, Giovanni Battista Salvi known as Sassoferrato, Anton Raphael Mengs, Battistello Caracciolo or the pink clouds by Federico Barocci. There are also historical references witnessed by the portraits of the popes; finally, interesting are the explorations of contemporary art dedicated to the sacred, such as the work of Bruno Ceccobelli, Giuseppe Salvatori, Luigi Stoisa and Giorgio Di Giorgio.

The exhibition, conceived by the European Centre for Tourism and Culture, organized in collaboration with Castel Sant’Angelo, and under the patronage of the Dicastery for Evangelization Jubilee 2025, is offered to the public on the occasion of the Jubilee Year 2025.

Photo credits: Carlo Sapelli, The Tribute, Musei Reali – Galleria Sabauda, Turin - press kit of the exhibition