One of history's most ambitious exhibitions showcasing Raphael's masterpieces has finally reopened in the Eternal City. This “second inauguration” of “Raffaello,” housed in the Scuderie del Qurinale in Rome, was met with just as much—if not more—excitement as the first. After all, it wasn't just weeks, but months of quarantine depriving art lovers of these priceless works.
MARIO DE SIMONI
President, Scuderie del Quirinale (Rome)
“We're restarting. This is the biggest exhibition of Raphael ever made. Raphael is the greatest painter of the Renaissance. The Renaissance is the most brilliant period in Italian history. Thus, it's only natural and obvious that the reopening of this exhibition had to be a part of Italy's reopening process.”
The exhibition commemorates 500 years since the death of the artist. It boasts masterpieces like the Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi.
Other works revealing the artist's complete mastery of his craft include the Portrait of a woman called “La Velata,” the Portrait of a woman in the role of Venus, the Portrait of Baldassarre Castiglione and (02:43-02:58) the Portrait of Giulio II.
There is also a collection of sketch studies and many other works on loan from other museums, including the Uffizi Galleries in Florence.
EIKE SCHMIDT Director
Uffizi Galleries (Florence)
“The collection is complete. Every piece is there. The day the exhibition closed, March 8, I made the decision that the Uffizi would leave their nearly 150 works in Rome for all the time necessary. Whatever it takes. It's the same solidarity we received from European museums and museums everywhere.”
To view the more than 200 pieces in the collection, visitors must respect a number of health safety measures. These include wearing masks and strictly following the arrows and distancing markers on the ground. Hand sanitizer and temperature checks are also made available at the building's entrance.
The “Raffaello” exhibition will be open to visitors until Aug. 30, 2020. Its ambitious grandiosity befits the inimitable genius of Raphael, whose art continues to make an impact even 500 years after his death.
Claudia Torres
