Masterpieces of the Vatican in the Tretyakov Gallery. Eternal Rome: how to watch Vatican masterpieces at the Tretyakov Gallery

Arkady Ippolitov

Curator, art critic. Curator of the Hermitage engraving department. Author of the books “Especially Lombardy. Images of Italy XXI" and "Only Venice. Images of Italy XXI". Curator of exhibition projects - including Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Robert Mapplethorpe, Giovanni Piranesi.

- About last year’s exhibition “Palladio in Russia”, which you curated, you said that it concentrated three centuries of Russian architecture. What is concentrated in the project “Masterpieces of the Vatican Pinakothek”, which will be exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery in November?

- Seven centuries of the history of the Papal State are concentrated in the Vatican Pinacoteca. We don’t even have to talk about what Rome means for Russia. The exhibition is a kind of explanation of the idea “Moscow is the third Rome”, with which we have been living for the fifth century. Our project has the subtitle “Roma Aeterna” - “Eternal Rome”. The institution of the papacy, founded by the Apostle Peter in the 1st century, links European civilization with the ancient world. This is one of the few connections that has survived to this day.

The Vatican Museums are similar to the old royal collections of the Louvre and the Hermitage, but at the same time they are very different from them. Each great collection shows the history of mankind with many schools and countries. And the Vatican Museums are a museum of the history of Rome and Roman art. This collection could be called a museum of the city, but what a city! The Vatican Art Gallery is relatively small - it contains about 500 works - and was opened only in 1932. Moreover, almost all the paintings come from churches and collections in Rome and the Papal States - it turned out to be a regional gallery. However, if we remember that this region is the state of the head of the Catholic world, then this immediately changes the matter.

The exhibition begins with Christ Blessing, the earliest Roman icon of the 12th century, painted under strong Byzantine influence. It preserves memories of the unity of Orthodoxy and Catholicism, shows the common root from which both Italian and Russian art grows, and explains why all this takes place in the Tretyakov Gallery.

"St. Francis", Margaritone d'Arezzo, 1270-1280

- What picture will be the last in historical perspective? Caravaggio?

The latter is much more interesting, it dates back to the 18th century. This is a series of works by Donato Creti “Astronomical Observations” - eight paintings in one frame, images of the planets of the solar system known at that time. The paintings were painted for Pope Clement XI, in order to convince him to give money for an astronomical laboratory in Bologna. This is how we see the entire history of the European spirit: from Christ Pantocrator, ruler of the Universe, to the Universe observed through a telescope.

The most important work - a masterpiece that influenced the history of all world painting - is precisely Caravaggio, his “Entombment”. There will be many other significant things. For example, “Saint Francis” by Margaritone d'Arezzo of the 13th century, without which not a single history textbook can do. The work is interesting not only for its artistic merits, but also for its historical significance: this is one of the first images of the saint who changed all European thinking. Perhaps this is his portrait.

There is something unusually esoteric and elegant - the predella by Ercole de Roberti “The Miracles of St. Vincenzo Ferreri”, recognized as one of the most sophisticated works of the Renaissance. There are angels that can be called the most famous angels in the world - three frescoes by Melozzo da Forli. These are things that almost never leave Rome, and Zelfira Tregulova and I, when we managed to get them, were absolutely happy. Of course, not everything was given according to the preliminary list, but that’s what I was counting on: the Tretyakov Gallery, and with it Moscow and Russia, received the most important things.

- It’s interesting how inter-museum relationships are built - a bit like a poker strategy.

- To some extent, it’s always like that. We proceed from what will be better, but it turns out as always. In this case, the most desired things were received, including two grandiose Lamentations - Crivelli and Bellini. Any Bellini is wonderful, but our work is simply extraordinary.

- In January, at a press conference, Mrs. Tregulova said in every possible way that this project became possible thanks to two people: Putin and Pope Francis. Should it be understood as a political gesture?

- Any exhibition can be discussed as a political gesture. Yes, it’s no secret that this is the result of negotiations between specific individuals, but for me the main thing here is the artistic value. Moscow will receive for several months something it could not even dream of.

"The Miracles of Saint Vincenzo Ferreri", 1473 (fragment), Ercole de' Roberti. Notable also for its accurate depiction of architecture - majestic, but not overwhelming

- Why is all this shown in the Tretyakov Gallery, which is still known as a museum of Russian art?

- Moscow is the third Rome. The Tretyakov Gallery provides national art in the same way as the Pinacoteca provides Roman art. So, despite all the differences, both museums have certain similarities. At the exhibition we will be able to see a lot of parallels: Rome and the Pinakothek meant a lot to Russian artists, Poussin’s Vatican paintings were more than known in Russia, many were copied.

- How do you plan to exhibit masterpieces in a complex building on Lavrushinsky Lane?

- Our architect was Sergei Choban, and he built the space, endowing it with some semantics. The first room with early paintings is made octagonal, which allows you to show everything, concentrating on individual things or entire groups. The main hall, which will house the most important works - Poussin's "Martyrdom of St. Erasmus", Caravaggio's "Entombment" and two small Raphaels - is laid out like St. Peter's Basilica.

- You are an employee of the Hermitage, but the Vatican project is exhibited by the Moscow museum. Mikhail Piotrovsky said that St. Petersburg is a puritanical city, and Moscow is more suitable for, I quote, “hard works of contemporary art and erotica.” What do you think about this?

- Everything that my director says is true a priori. But I think you're misinterpreting his words a little. He meant that St. Petersburg is an incredibly stylish city, but in Moscow you can feel freer. The first official exhibition of Kabakov in Russia took place in Russia in 2004 in the Hermitage - for some reason everyone forgot about this. Mapplethorpe was exhibited here first, and there were many other radical projects. But hipness has its influence, and so other cities may want to be a little more radical.

Fresco "Angel with a Viola", Melozzo da Forli, 1480. Was painted for the Basilica of Santi Apostoli in Rome. After a major reconstruction of the church, many of da Forli's frescoes were lost, but the angels were saved - and at the beginning of the 18th century they went to the Vatican

In my opinion, the exhibition from the Vatican is as much a fact of life in modern Moscow as exhibitions of contemporary artists. They are always trying to impose some kind of historical cliches on art, but, in general, it denies linear development. Because every work of art breaks out of its context, which, of course, it is conditioned by, and, having escaped, begins to acquire many other contexts. I have done many exhibitions that prove to be equally contemporary. We must know and take into account the context - know what the Renaissance is, what it means. But in any case, our dialogue with a work of art is just that: a dialogue.

You have been working at the Hermitage since 1978. In the Soviet Union, the museum had an edifying function; in the 1990s, the concept of a supermuseum was born that serves as a tourist attraction, like the Guggenheim in Bilbao; Now, in the 21st century, technological breakthroughs continue with iPhones and virtual reality. What is it like to witness such changes?

Every time it becomes more and more interesting. Sokurov came up with the metaphor of the ark, and this is quite fair: within the very walls of the Winter Palace there is a certain inviolability that gives that same feeling of the ark. But time in the ark is the same, and it does not happen that one era seems better and another worse.

Museums are needed, and in the same 20th century, in parallel with modernism, the idea of conservation developed, which turned out to be much more radical than in the most classical eras, which dealt with the past mercilessly. Despite all the declarations, which remained mainly in theory, modernism develops museums. Today there are more and more classical museums, and the further they go, the stronger they are. Museums will definitely maintain their structure and protect it. While all museums strive for as much openness as possible - to ideas, to the public, to opportunities - there is also a certain fear. The museum wants to be popular. What is popularity? The most popular things are Disneyland and McDonald's, to which modern art has long since taken a step. The next question is up to museums.

“Astronomical Observations”, Donato Creti, 1711. The painting was actually painted to encourage Pope Clement XI to build an observatory

- Is this a certain temptation?

Certainly. It’s not that you need to fight it, but you need to be aware of it. However, I think that the classical museum will remain in its position. Even the most desperate contemporary art always dreams of getting into a museum, and a classical museum at that.

- Okay, how do you feel about multimedia exhibitions?

I don’t like it when technology is mixed with originals in the same space - when a painting hangs and photographs of its fragment are displayed in enormous magnification. The audience loses a sense of reality and is distracted by the fragment. At the Vatican exhibition, we abandoned extensive explications, trying to reduce the interference of third-party objects and giving the opportunity to speak to the works themselves.

- Where do you think there is such an abundance of texts at all exhibitions today?

I have long noticed that at exhibitions everyone likes to read, but in books, on the contrary, they like to look at pictures. The most refined audience reacts this way, and I often use it. There are exhibitions that involve reading; at our exhibition, texts will play a purely auxiliary role. Zelfira Ismailovna and I agreed on this right away, and Choban absolutely agreed with us. We will print the texts separately and provide audio guides.

“Lamentation of Christ”, Giovanni Bellini, 1478. In 1483, the artist received the post of official painter of the Venetian Republic

For tourists, going to a museum is easy entertainment, on par with shopping or Disneyland. What about the Hermitage? Doesn't it suffer from tourists?

He copes with them quite well. The museum cannot exist without the public, and it is interested in having as many public as possible. On the other hand, sometimes there is an inflection point; if the museum cannot accommodate its entire audience, then you need to think about it. The Hermitage is expanding its borders, although the public has not yet fully understood that the General Staff is part of the Hermitage. But over time it will happen.

- What do you think about the phenomenon of museum queues in Russia now? Has some Soviet tradition come back to life?

There is nothing incomprehensible about this: I remember huge queues for grandiose exhibitions at the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage in the Soviet years.

Yes, but those were imported exhibitions, and the same “Girl with Peaches” by Serov is constantly present in the Tretyakov Gallery exhibition.

It was grandiose: so many of his works have never been collected anywhere else - and probably won’t be for another hundred years.

- What is the reason for the popularity of the exhibition?

Aivazovsky is, of course, a specific taste and phenomenon of the art market. But Serov is “our intellectual everything.” No matter how much they scold him, he is a wonderful artist, and talk about the fact that he is an average European modernist is empty and superficial. He died very early, moreover, he had enormous talent and an unerring instinct. This is one of the few artists who created a certain parallel to Russian logos and literature: Serov’s painting has all the advantages of Chekhov’s prose. Maybe Fedotov and Gogol still have such a parallel. This phenomenon is absolutely Russian, understandable only to those who know Russia. In addition, Serov never committed a single wrong act in his life - his behavior during the revolution of 1905, his attitude towards modern painting, an absolute premonition of expressionism and the avant-garde... His drawings with Peter the Great are great and grandiose works, which from a formal point of view visions are more modern and in tune with our time than futurism.

- What is our time consonant with? On the one hand, now all museums exhibit classics, on the other, there is a rehabilitation of official Soviet art with such controversial precedents as in the Manege or the great Leninist artist Alexander Gerasimov in the Historical Museum. Are these attempts to correct a history that has already been corrected? What do you think about it?

- History can be canceled and corrected, which has been done more than once, and not only in our country. How do I feel about what is happening? What do you want me to answer? How to a varied and fascinating picture of modern artistic life.

"Entombment", Caravaggio, 1600–1604. Many of his paintings were rejected by customers due to the artist's deliberate refusal to elevate the image. It depicts saints among ordinary people

Perhaps history needs some kind of starting point - it could be a museum of modern art with a permanent collection, but it still doesn’t exist. The project that was promised on Khodynka by 2018 has not been heard for some time...

There are plenty of museums of modern art - varying degrees of lousiness and greatness. Contemporary art is also exhibited here, in the Hermitage 20/21 project. In Moscow, it is shown by both Krymsky Val and MMSI on Petrovka and Ermolaevsky Lane. There will be no ideal and beautiful museum: the ideal simply cannot be connected with modernity. And if we discuss this in a more specific way, then we should just sit down, get to work and design a good museum of contemporary art.

Then let's return to the classics: if you could buy or, say, receive as a gift one of the paintings from the exhibition “Roma Aeterna. Masterpieces of the Pinakothek”, what would you choose?

Thank God, such a question will not confront me, otherwise I could very well commit suicide out of greed. Of course, you need to take Caravaggio. But you can’t remove him from the Vatican! This is a completely impossible dilemma, and it would not bring me any good.

The name "Pinacotheque" comes from the Greek word pinakes, meaning painted tablets made of wood or baked clay. According to ancient sources, these are the very first examples of painting by the great masters of Ancient Greece. Subsequently, this technique was adopted by the Romans, as well as the custom of hanging these tablets on the walls. Pinakes famous masters were exhibited in rich private collections, as well as in public buildings. The rules of the ancient Pinakothek were very different from the operating hours of modern museums: the doors of the ancient Pinakothek were opened only occasionally, mainly to demonstrate the prestige and wealth of the owners.

Likewise, the Vatican quickly realized the need to create a collection of paintings for the collection of the Vatican Museums. Pope Pius VI (Braschi, 1775-1799) became the founder of the collection, which became the core of the future Vatican Pinacoteca, placing it in the Gallery of Paintings. It was a continuation of the Gallery of Candelabra, designed by Simonetti.Pope Pius

VII (Chiaramonti, 1800-1823), after the return of paintings from Paris, ordered the establishment of a new Vatican Pinacoteca, and five halls of the Borgia Apartments were allocated for the exhibition. However, it soon became clear that there was not enough light in the Borgia Apartments, and in connection with this there was it was decided to move the paintings to the Bologna Hall and to the fourth floor of the Loggia. Pope Gregory XVI (Cappellari, 1831-1846) restored the collection of paintings in the Gallery, now called the Gobelin Gallery, but then it turned out that it was also not suitable for storing paintings, and the collection was transferred to the apartments of St. Pius V. Finally, Pope Pius XI (Ratti, 1922-1939) inaugurated the new building in 1932, which now houses the Vatican Pinacoteca. The exhibition is housed in 18 spacious rooms, and in accordance with modern criteria, the paintings were arranged in chronological order. The underground rooms house spacious storage facilities and restoration workshops, while the second floor houses a library and photographic archive.

Hall I (XII-XV centuries): Medieval Siena, Umbrian and Tuscan schools. Works by Giovanni di Nicola.

Starting this imaginary journey into the world of fine art with the medieval canonical forms of painting, it is important to analyze the following aspects:

What is the plot or theme of the image;

What are the variations in drawing technique and color representation;

Is there a golden background; what is the composition of the picture, and how is perspective and chiaroscuro used, what is the role of the landscape;

Is it possible to identify the characters; quality of the portrait, details of clothing and furnishings;

What is the writing technique used and the base material of the painting;

Who is the customer and what is the history of creation.

The oldest painting in the collection is Last Judgment-a work of a round shape with a rectangular attachment at the bottom; perhaps a similar shape was chosen by the artist to emphasize the universal scale of the event. After all, in the Middle Ages they believed that the Earth had the shape of a disk. Most likely, the board, dating from the 12th century, was used as an altar image.

Most of the paintings in the Middle Ages were executed on boards, on religious themes and on orders from religious institutions for the decoration of sanctuaries. The paintings were characterized by a lack of dynamics, since the work served only as a link between the worshiper and the sacred entity. The figures were depicted in two-dimensional space with impassive faces, as a rule the drawing was made on a golden background with the composition divided into registers, as dictated by the rigid hierarchical scheme of those times. In the first two halls of the Pinakothek, a series of medieval wooden panels, at one time called “Primitives,” are exhibited. They were part of the Vatican Library and, in particular, the Christian Museum, founded by Pope Benedict XIV (Lambertini, 1740-1758) with the goal of demonstrating the attractive beauty of Christian truth through artistic evidence. Preference was given to images of Christ and paintings with scenes from the life of the Savior; the collection is also rich in images of the Blessed Virgin; the collection of images of Saints is also interesting, which in most cases can be identified by attributes associated with their life history.

Vitale da Bologna - Madonna, XIV century.

Antonio Veneziano - St. Mary Magdalene, XIV century.

Allegretto Nusi-Madonna and Child, St. Michael and St. Ursula, XIV century.

School of Giunta Pisano-St. Francis and scenes from his life, 1260-70.

Hall II (XIII-XV centuries): Paintings by Sienese trecento artists, Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) and students are presented: Stefaneschi triptych (1330-1335); Simone Martini, Bernardo Daddi (“Madonna”), Pietro Lorenzetti .

Stefaneschi triptych was painted for the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, built under the Emperor Constantine at the behest of Cardinal Jacopo Caetani Stefaneschi, the customer of all Giotto's works. The altar painting was painted both on the front (recto) and on the back (verso) side, so that it could be seen and The Pope, seated on a throne in the apse, and the faithful during the liturgy from the side of the nave. On the side facing the parishioners, in the central part, St. Peter is depicted on a throne, at whose feet the customer of the painting, Cardinal Stefaneschi, bowed in ceremonial robes and with a model of a triptych in hands; in the side flaps on the right hand are depicted St. John the Evangelist and St. Andrew, and on the left are St. James and St. Paul; from the lower part only one flap with images of other Saints remains.

On the side facing the apse, Christ is depicted on the throne, the customer is again bowing at his feet, although this time in more modest attire; on the side doors, instead of the usual images of Saints, there are two scenes: the Crucifixion of Peter, and the Beheading of St. Paul. The work dates back to the first years of the fourteenth century, and for its execution Giotto hired apprentices, as was common for medieval workshops.

Gentile da Fabriano-Annunciation, 1425

Sano di Pietro - Flight into Egypt, 1440

Hall III (XV century): Florentine painting of the Renaissance: works by Fra Beato Angelico (1387-1455): Madonna enthroned between Saints Catherine and Domenic (c. 1435), Scenes from the life of St. Nicholas (1437), Saint Francis of Assisi receives the stigmata (c. 1440); Filippo Lippi: “The Wedding of Our Lady”, “Madonna” by Benozzo Gozzoli.

Renaissance artists abandoned the golden background, preferring to build the plots of their paintings in a natural setting or in contemporary architectural surroundings: the paintings seemed to become a window into the reality created by the artist, and this meant that the person as an observer became the central figure of the scene, and the painting executed taking into account the law of perspective - as if by his visual perception. Stories from the life of St. Nicholas of Bari were executed on small quadrangular tablets by an artist from Perugia, Fra Giovanni da Fusole, nicknamed Beato Angelico (1400-1455). Beato Angelico resurrects the main miracles. committed by Saint Nicholas - starting from his birth and ending with his death in the middle of the 4th century. Saint Nicholas was born in Asia Minor into a noble family, became a bishop, performed many miracles and provided help to those in need. The most famous is the episode depicted last in the series , and tells the story of three young girls whom their father, who had fallen into poverty, forced to sell their bodies. One night, St. Nicholas threw three bags of gold coins into the girls’ house so that they could find a worthy match and get married. This picture is a vivid an example of historia figurata - artistic method. Plastic forms, coordinated with each other and in harmony with the architectural structures of the Renaissance, and following the rules of perspective, were part of a logical narrative depicting the hero at various moments of his life.

Fra Beato Angelico - Stories from the life of St. Nicholas of Bari: Birth of the Saint, Vocation, Gift to three poor girls, 1437

Fra Beato Angelico-Madonna enthroned between Saints Catherine and Domenicus, 1435

Fra Beato Angelico - Stigmata of Saint Francis, 1440

Triptych depicting the Coronation of the Virgin Mary by the Carmelite monk Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), commissioned by the monastery. F. Lippi was aware of new trends in painting - his style is not alien to the plasticity of poses, and the faces of the characters express feelings borrowed from real life. The throne of the Mother of God is installed on a raised platform with steps depicted in perspective and decorated with colored marble, as well as the railings. The background of the composition is the blue sky, and not an abstract golden color.

Benozzo Gozzoli Madonna, 1450

Room IV (XV-XVI centuries) Fresco by Melozzo da Forli - “Sixtus IV founds the Vatican Library”, fragments of the apse mosaic from the Church of Santi Apostoli.

By a special bull dated June 15, 1475, Pope Sixtus IV officially approves the Vatican Library and appoints the humanist scientist Bartolomeo Sacchi, nicknamed Platina, as its Manager and Guardian. The Library was divided into three departments - Greek, Latin codes and the papal archive. The Bull not only established the rules for access, storage and cataloging of volumes and the duties of librarians, but also assigned additional premises to the Library. Moreover, Sixtus IV attracted the best artists of the time to design new Halls: Domenico Ghirlandaio, already busy with work in the Sistine Chapel, was commissioned to decorate the lunettes of the Library with portraits of ancient philosophers, Teachers and Fathers of the Church; Melozzo from Forli (1438-1494) undertook the creation of a central cycle of frescoes dedicated to the history of the creation of the Library Melozzo's fresco was removed from the wall in the nineteenth century and, after being transferred to canvas, was exhibited at the Pinacoteca. In the foreground of the painting are Sixtus IV seated on the throne and Platina kneeling before him at the moment of receiving his appointment; the cardinals stand on the sides of the Papal chair, among whom you can recognize the nephew of Sixtus IV, Giuliano della Rovere - the future Pope Julius II (1503-1513)

Platinum points to the memorial inscription below, listing all the deeds that Sixtus IV performed for the benefit of Rome, which clearly demonstrates the purpose of creating the fresco - glorification of the Pope. The ceremony takes place against the backdrop of a grandiose structure with columns, depicted in perspective, under a coffered vault, magnificent decorated with marble, gold and lapis lazuli. A building of such impressive architecture should personify the triumph of humanistic culture, the greatness of the Pope and the enlightened court.

Soon after completing work on the frescoes of the Vatican Library, Melozzo was commissioned to paint the round vault of the Roman Church of the Holy Apostles on the theme of the Ascension of Christ. The fresco was commissioned by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (future Pope Julius II), who began a radical reconstruction of the church. In the 18th century, during the next reconstruction of the church the apse was completely destroyed, and fragments of the fresco were removed from the walls and transferred for storage to various museums. A fragment of Christ the Blessing was placed at the end of the main staircase of the Quirinal Palace (at that time the Apostolic Palace and the official residence of the Popes before the unification of Italy) About the Quirinal Palace fast

Fragments with angels playing musical instruments and the Heads of the Apostles found their place in the Pinakothek exhibition.

Melozzo's revolutionary innovation was the use of "foreshortening" in this work - depicting figures in a bottom-up direction, taking into account the depicted point of view of the visitor located directly under the apse ceiling painting, as required by the science of creating the illusion of perspective. After the discovery in the 15th century and the subsequent study of the effect of perspective on the plane, a more difficult task arose: how to create a ceiling image of the correct proportions from the point of view of the viewer located directly below it?

It was Melozzo who first tested possible ways to solve this problem, which was later brilliantly resolved by Raphael and Michelangelo. The composition included the figure of Christ in the central part, surrounded by angels playing some musical instrument, thus accompanying with a wonderful symphony the act of the Savior’s return to heaven; in the lower, earthly part parts were placed images of the Apostles-witnesses of the Divine Miracle. The set of presented musical instruments testifies to the constant attention to religious music, which is considered as a necessary tool for spiritual development.

Predella "The Miracle of St. Vincent Ferrer" tells about the actions of the Dominican monk Vincent Ferrer.

Beginning in 1401, Ferrer devoted himself to missionary work among the Cathars and Waldenses. His sermons in the south of France, Switzerland and Savoy were successful, a large number of heretics returned to Catholicism. Ferrer was canonized by Pope Calixtus III in 1455. Paintings dedicated to the saint were also created Titian, Fra Beato Angelico, Bellini, Francesco del Cossa, Ghirlandaio and others. Saint Ferrer is considered the patron saint of Valencia and the entire Valencian region. Two Brazilian municipalities are named in his honor - São Vicente Ferrer and São Vicente Ferrer (Maranhão).

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was a German painter and graphic artist of the Renaissance, a master of pictorial and graphic portraits, genre and biblical compositions, who synthesized Gothic traditions with the artistic principles of the Renaissance in his work. in the next post.
When writing this post, information was also used from the Wikipedia encyclopedia and from the Vatican website -

Friends, good afternoon. On Saturday we were lucky enough to visit a unique exhibition of Vatican masterpieces, you still have the opportunity to see it within two months, don’t miss it.

The exhibition takes place in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Lavrushinsky Lane, 12) from November 25, 2016 to February 19, 2017. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy tickets through the website, but you can easily come to the museum and buy a ticket right on the spot, at the box office, Despite the large number of visitors, we did not see any queues.

Operating mode:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00 (entrance until 17.00)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 10.00 to 21.00 (entrance until 20.00)

Monday is a day off.

Allow yourself a couple of hours to view the exhibition; one hour is clearly not enough.

To be honest, I’m still very impressed, I don’t even know where to start. Works from the 12th to the 18th centuries are presented. This is a tenth of the collection, which includes 460 works. It is interesting that a number of paintings left their native walls for the first time, given that not everyone, in light of the tightening of economic policy, can afford to travel abroad, I think that we are very lucky and I recommend using this chance, you will definitely not remain indifferent. Unfortunately, taking photographs at the exhibition is strictly prohibited, so I took all the photographs from the Internet, and the description from the brochure from the exhibition and from memory what I managed to remember from the audio guide.

The exhibition begins with the rare ancient icon “Christ the Blessing,” created in the second half of the 12th century by a master working in Rome under the influence of Byzantine painting. Before entering the Pinacoteca, it was located in the church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio, one of the oldest in Rome. The Roman master presented Jesus Christ in the image of Pantocrator, that is, the ruler of the Universe, and the icon, being an analogy of ancient Russian images of the Savior Pantocrator, preserves the memory of the unity of the Christian church before the schism, that is, before its division into Catholic and Orthodox, and shows the direct kinship of Italian and Russian art coming from the same root.

The exhibition continues with Margaritone di Magnano, nicknamed Margaritone d'Arezzo ca. 1216-1290).
Saint Francis of Assisi. 1250-1270. Altar image. Wood, tempera, gold. 127.2x53.9 cm.
“Margaritone d'Arezzo, born before Giotto and Duccio, is one of the greatest painters of medieval Italy. The painting is included in all art history textbooks as an outstanding example of the late Romanesque style, but it is also interesting because it is one of the earliest images of St. Francis of Assisi, made shortly after his canonization in 1228. Saint Francis played a vital role in the history of the Western Church; it is not for nothing that the current pope chose his name, who became the first Francis in the history of the Vatican. This work may have been exactly the one that Vasari described in “The Life of Margaritone” as painted from life, so that it can be considered almost one of the first portraits in Italian painting.”

I was shocked both by the icons themselves and by their preservation, think about it, this is from the 12th-13th centuries!

I will not dwell on all the exhibits; I will note only those that sank into my soul the most and shocked me with their skill. Continuing the inspection of the first hall, I would like to draw attention to 3 frescoes by Melozzo degli Ambrosi, nicknamed Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494).
Angels playing the lute. 1480. Fragments of a fresco removed from the wall. Right size: 117×93.5 cm.
The artist “...was invited to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV. He created many frescoes in Roman churches, so that Melozzo can be considered the founder of the Roman school, which flourished in the 16th-17th centuries. Three angels playing music are fragments of his painting of the dome of the Church of Santi Apostoli, a huge multi-figure composition “The Ascension of Christ”.
The fresco was perceived by contemporaries as a triumph of papal power, which revived Rome. The divine orchestra of angels symbolized the unearthly beauty of paradise, and the abstract concept of “music of heaven” is associated with the philosophical constructions of the model of the world, which the Pythagoreans and Platonists spoke about. Melozzo, as a Renaissance artist, combines ancient and Christian traditions in his work. His angels, glorifying the Lord according to the words of the Bible: “Let them praise His name with faces, with tympanum and harp, let them sing to Him, for the Lord delights in His people, glorifying the humble with salvation,” are ideal, like ancient statues, and at the same time vital - they look like young pages at the courts of Renaissance rulers.”

The fresco “Angel Playing the Viol”, not many of Melozzo’s works have reached us; most of his frescoes were lost during perestroika, but from what remains, one can judge the scale of his talent. Melozzo, turning to medieval models, breathed new life into them, anticipating Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio, and the painting of the domes of Baroque churches.

Also noteworthy is the work of Gentile da Fabriano (c. 1370-1427).
Scenes from the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker: St. Nicholas calms the storm and saves the ship. OK. 1425. Predella. Wood, tempera. But it is interesting not so much for its plot, but because the author depicts the earth here as round, which was an absolute innovation for those times. Look at the horizon line.

Well, I can’t help but draw attention to one of the central exhibits of the first hall, Giovanni Bellini (c. 1432-1516). Lamentation of Christ with Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene. OK. 1471-1474. Altar top. Wood, oil. 107×84 cm.
“Bellini is the greatest artist of the Venetian school of the 15th century. This painting is one of his masterpieces. It was the finial of a large altar, and in its composition Bellini takes a decisive step towards the calm grandeur of the High Renaissance, overtaking many of his contemporary Florentine artists. The work is avant-garde in the mere fact that it is painted in oils, using a completely new technique for Italy, just brought to Venice from the Netherlands. The iconography is also original. Usually the main person in the Lamentation scene is the Virgin Mary. Only Joseph of Arimathea, Saint Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene are depicted here supporting Jesus from behind. The thoughtful silence in which the characters are immersed, emphasized by the tension of their clasped hands, gives this scene a rare psychological acuity.”

Looking at a painting by Carlo Crivelli (1435-1494). Mourning. 1488. Lunette. Wood, tempera, gold. For a long time I could not understand the technique in which it was executed, the work here is so delicate that it seems that the picture is woven from brocade, this is amazing, I have never seen anything like it before.
“Carlo Crivelli, a Venetian by birth, left his native city early and became famous in the Marche region. During his lifetime he was popular, but later he was forgotten and rediscovered only at the end of the 19th century. This lunette, which crowned the large altar, is one of his most stunning works. For the sake of expressiveness, the artist resorts to obvious violations of proportions, and in order to intertwine the hands of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Magdalene together, Crivelli makes the right hand of Christ much longer than the left. Bent over a knot of palms, Magdalene’s face, distorted by crying, becomes the emotional center of the picture. The work is strongly influenced by Northern Gothic, and is characterized by that incredible intensity of psychological experience that is characteristic of the mystical religious movements of the 15th century.”

Most of the works with their plots take us to where the Birth of Christ and other events took place

Moving on to the second hall of the exhibition, I want to start with a description of the painting that most struck me, namely Guido Reni’s painting “St. Matthew and the Angel,” 1635-1640. Painting size 85×68 cm, oil on canvas. Saint Matthew, original name Levi, one of the twelve apostles and author of the first Gospel. Reni painted this picture over the course of about five years already in adulthood. “Saint Matthew and the Angel” is considered one of the artist’s most significant works in the last period of his work. The magic of the gaze of Matthew and the angel is striking, how one listens to the other, with what amazing accuracy and grace the artist was able to convey the complex range of feelings of both in their glances.

The second most powerful painting on me was the painting attributed to Pensionante del Saraceni, “The Denial of St. Peter.” The painting was considered the work of Caravaggio until 1943, but was then attributed to a student of Carlo Saraceni, one of the main representatives of early Caravaggism. The student's name has not yet been established, and he is provisionally called "Pensionante del Saraceni", which in Italian means "guest of Saraceni". His canvases stand out among the works of other Caravaggists: the artist does not plunge the background into darkness, but illuminates the entire picture with an even iridescent light. The plot of the film is the gospel story of the denial of the Apostle Peter. The night before he was taken into custody, Jesus predicted to him that he would deny three times before the first rooster. A maid approached Peter, who was waiting for news at the gate of the high priest’s house, where the arrested Jesus was taken, and, recognizing him, said: “And she with Jesus of Galilee,” but the apostle denied. In the picture, Peter’s face is in the shadows, as if hiding his shame .

One of the central works of the second room is the work of Michelangelo Merisi, nicknamed Caravaggio, “Entombment,” which the artist painted for the Roman temple of Santa Maria della Valicella. It is considered one of the best in his work. The composition “Entombment” is structured in such a way that the viewer looking at it involuntarily becomes part of the picture. The stone tomb in which they want to put Christ is turned towards the viewer with one of its corners - this corner seems to break through a thin barrier between the world of the picture and ordinary reality. The impression is strengthened by the sharp elbow of Nicodemus holding Jesus by the legs. It seems that they want to convey the motionless body of Christ to the one who looks at the picture.

Young Maria froze in a silent cry, raising her hands to the sky, her hair sticking out in different directions - apparently, she tore it in lamentations. Mary Magdalene's head is mournfully lowered, he hides his tears, worrying about the loss. Jesus' mother does not cry or scream, she silently looks at her son's face, knowing that she will never see him again. The men's faces are concentrated and mournful.

John, frowning, peers into the lifeless face of his Teacher, and the strong and stocky Nicodemus looks down at the bottom of the tomb, straining under the weight of Jesus’ body. The body of Christ is devoid of any cadaverous shades; it is pale, as if it had lost all the colors of life.

Of course, one of the most significant pieces of the exhibition are two small grisailles by Raphael Santi, which formed the predella of the altarpiece for the church of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia, known as the Baglioni altarpiece, in the center of which was the “Entombment”, now kept in the Galleria Borghese. “Vera”, the side part of the predella, appears in the form of a female figure with a chalice in her hand; putti in the side niches hold tablets with mograms of the name of Jesus.

In the Third Hall we are presented with the series “Astronomical Observations”, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Satupn, Comet. An unusual series of paintings, mounted in one frame, depicting night observations of all the then known planets of the solar system, created by the Bolognese artist Donato Creti, commissioned by Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, an amateur astronomer. The count decided to send the paintings to Pope Clement 11 in the hope of in this way convincing him to allocate money for the construction of an observatory in Bologna and achieved his goal, the funds were allocated.

There are still many worthy and unique works presented at the exhibition and you, friends, have two more months to visit it and see all these creations with your own eyes, I wish you good luck.

One of the main exhibitions of this year opens on November 25 in the Engineering Building of the Tretyakov Gallery. Director of the Tretyakov Gallery Zelfira Tregulova talks about the joint project of the Vatican Museums and the Tretyakov Gallery “Roma Aeterna. Masterpieces of the Vatican Pinacoteca”.

The exhibition "Roma Aeterna. Masterpieces of the Vatican Pinacoteca" opens a month before Christmas. For you, as director of the Tretyakov Gallery, which aspect of this exhibition is most important: political, religious, cultural?

Zelfira Tregulova: Of course, artistic. I can only confirm the words of the director of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci: never before from the collections of the Vatican Pinacoteca have 42 masterpieces of this level been sent to an exhibition at once. Of course, this is an unprecedented gesture, testifying to the relationship of trust that has developed between Russia and the Vatican, the Vatican Museums and the Tretyakov Gallery at a very difficult moment for the whole world.

Moreover, indeed, each of the works, starting from “the most popular angels of Rome” by Melozzo da Forli and up to “Lamentation” by Giovanni Bellini and “Entombment” by Caravaggio, is significant for the Pinacoteca collection. These are textbook works, which are reproduced on postcards, posters, in many catalogs... But seeing them with your own eyes is a completely different matter. Sergei Choban built the architecture of the central hall of the exhibition in such a way that it repeated the outline of the famous square in front of St. Peter's Basilica with Bernini's colonnade. And in place of the facade of the cathedral there is a showcase with two early grisailles by Raphael, which were created for the altar of the church in Perugia. Therefore, the viewer finds himself in the center of the semicircle, at the point from which the spaces of paintings by Raphael, Correggio, Paolo Veronese, Caravaggio, Poussin, Guercino, Guido Reni are revealed...

Antonio Paolucci said that the Tretyakov Gallery received almost all the works it asked for.

Zelfira Tregulova: Absolutely right. In December 2015, we had our last meeting in the Vatican on the composition of the exhibition. We had to be given an answer as to which items from our list they were willing to provide and which they could not provide. We sat in a relatively small office and listened with bated breath as Mr. Corignani, the head of the exhibitions department, went through the list, where the works were in chronological order, saying “Si” or “No”. Having reached Caravaggio's "Entombment", he made a long dramatic pause. And before that there was already a “Si” about the painting “The Lamentation of Christ” by Giovanni Bellini. And Arkady Ippolitov, the curator of the exhibition, and I literally froze: on the one hand, it is unlikely that there would be “Yes” again, but on the other hand, such a pause is not made before “No”. And he says: "Si". And we begin to scream with happiness.

Never before have 42 masterpieces of such a level been simultaneously sent to an exhibition from the collections of the Vatican Pinacoteca

The name of the project Roma Aeterna, that is, “Eternal Rome,” refers to antiquity. One of the most important topics that arises in connection with Rome is, naturally, a very productive dialogue between antiquity and Christian art. Was she important to you?

Zelfira Tregulova: Certainly. This is one of the main themes of the exhibition.

But it’s not in the works. The earliest work on display is a 12th-century Roman school icon of Christ Blessing. Meanwhile, the Vatican Museums have a magnificent collection of ancient art. Would you like to request some works for the exhibition?

Zelfira Tregulova: We thought about it, but then we decided that we would focus on painting. As for the connection with antiquity, it is no coincidence that Dante, as we know, chooses the great Virgil to guide him through the afterlife. By the way, it was in his “Aeneid” that the idea of eternal Rome received its poetic justification. Virgil's works were copied in medieval monasteries in Europe. Christianity acted as the heir of ancient culture, opposing itself to the barbarians who smashed the “idols.” Not to mention the fact that Michelangelo called himself “a student of the Belvedere Torso.”

But at the exhibition this topic became “subtext”?

Zelfira Tregulova: If we consider as “subtext” the brilliant overview of the history of the Vatican Museums’ collections, written for the catalog by Arkady Ippolitov, then yes. We did not directly compare the ancient monuments that are in the Vatican Museums with later painting masterpieces. But a curious viewer will find traces of a fascination with antiquity, as well as bizarre reminiscences of Gothic art even in the works of artists of the 14th-15th centuries. In addition, the idea of “eternal Rome” was borrowed by Christian Rome...

Another obvious topic is the relationship between the Byzantine and Western Christian traditions in European art...

Zelfira Tregulova: It is no coincidence that we are starting the exhibition with a 12th-century icon from the Roman school, in which this Byzantine tradition is palpable. But at the same time, we do not emphasize the features of iconography or interpretation of this or that religious subject in the paintings of European masters, because, in my opinion, projects of this kind are not about what divides us, but about what unites us.

We brought the greatest works created by artists within the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, but speaking a language that is understandable to all humanity. That is why we, together with the Vatican Embassy in Moscow, also invite heads and representatives of various faiths to the opening. Because the exhibition is addressed to everyone.

Yes, almost all works were created for monasteries, cathedrals... For example, the angels of Melozzo da Forlì decorated the dome of one of the Roman churches at one time. And yet, the artists solved not only the problems posed by the customer, but also posed questions that worried them. Caravaggio's "Entombment" is also an image of incredible tragic power. And Carlo Crivelli’s “Lamentation” is one of the most ecstatic paintings of the early Italian Renaissance...

The title emphasizes the theme of eternity, but presents it as a plot unfolding in time...

Zelfira Tregulova: That is why we are building the exhibition traditionally - chronologically, starting with works of the 12th century and ending with the 18th century. By the way, the second most recent work in the exhibition is an icon depicting Francis of Assisi, painted shortly after his canonization in 1228, that is, half a century after his death. This is a kind of hommage to Pope Francis I, who was the first among the popes to take the name of this saint. If it were not for the meeting between Francis I and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, during which the idea of exchanging exhibitions arose, then the incredible opportunity to see the treasures of the Pinakothek in Moscow would not have arisen. But we are ready to be no less generous when sending our collection to the Vatican.

Have the contours of the response project, which the Tretyakov Gallery will present at the Pinakothek in 2017, been outlined?

Zelfira Tregulova: It is clear that we will talk about the interpretation of biblical and evangelical subjects in Russian art. Initially, we planned to show works by artists of the 19th - early 20th centuries. At this time, the subjects of the Holy Scriptures became the theme of easel paintings, a reason to think about the most important humanistic problems. First of all, we are talking about the paintings of Alexander Ivanov, “Calvary” by Nikolai Ge, and the canvas “Christ in the Desert” by Ivan Kramskoy.

Are the works of Natalia Goncharova planned to be shown at the Pinakothek?

Zelfira Tregulova: Yes, sure. And the “Evangelists”, and images of the Mother of God, archangels from our collection. We mainly plan to bring works from the Tretyakov Gallery, plus a few works from the collection of the Russian Museum, and maybe regional museums.

Will there be iconography?

Zelfira Tregulova: More likely. Arkady Ippolitov proposed a very interesting topic within the framework of this exhibition. It can be designated as “Alexander Ivanov and Raphael’s Transfiguration.” Now we are thinking about how to include iconography in this context.

Pope Francis I loves contemporary art, are there any plans to exchange exhibitions of contemporary art?

Zelfira Tregulova: Not yet.

How to get to the exhibition and how long does the session last?

When I tried to order tickets on the Tretyakov Gallery website for the exhibition Roma Aeterna at least for January 31, the answer appeared: “No tickets.” Is there still hope for an “extra ticket” at triple the price?

Zelfira Tregulova: We announced ticket sales on October 25th. In three days, all tickets until December 31 were sold, after which we suspended ticket sales on the Internet. Tickets for January and February will be sold online from mid-December. As with the Aivazovsky exhibition, we will sell some tickets at the box office of the Engineering Building on the day of the show. We will limit the number of tickets per session. At this exhibition we cannot receive as many visitors as at the exhibitions of Serov or Aivazovsky. The last one was watched by about 600 thousand people.

How many tickets will there be for the show?

Zelfira Tregulova: I think no more than 100 tickets for one session. Taking into account those sold on the Internet, 30-40 tickets for each session at the box office... Let's see what number of spectators turns out to be optimal. The exhibition requires concentration and silence. We bought special equipment for the guides that allows them to speak quietly into the microphone, and listeners will have headphones.

After 45 minutes will all visitors have to leave the hall?

Zelfira Tregulova: No, why? Firstly, the session is not 45 minutes. We let people in every half hour with the expectation that the spectators who entered earlier will move on to the next room. We don't kick anyone out. I think one hour of very concentrated attentive viewing is enough to view this exhibition.

Is there an educational program planned?

Zelfira Tregulova: There will be a series of lectures and two series of film screenings: there will be films that have not been shown in Russia.

Help "RG"

What did they bring from the Vatican?

The 42 rarities that arrived from the Vatican represent Italian art of seven centuries, from the 12th to the 18th centuries inclusive.

At the exhibition you can see works from the late Romanesque era, such as the 13th century icon of St. Francis of Assisi.

Among the works of the Gothic era there is a wonderful work by Pietro Lorenzetti, one of the masters of Siena of the 14th century, and, for example, part of an altarpiece with scenes from the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker by Gentile da Fabriano. Or with scenes from the life of St. Nicholas, painted by Fra Beato Angelico, the great Florentine of the early Renaissance.

The exhibition presents works by artists from Ferrara, Venice (Carlo Crivelli and Giovanni Bellini), Romagna (the angels of Melozzo da Forli), Perugia...

Raphael's grisailles from 1507 open the exhibition of the High Renaissance and Baroque. Among the masterpieces of the 16th century are paintings by Anthony Correggio and Paolo Veronese.

The 17th century is represented by Caravaggio’s “Entombment” (1604), works by artists from the Accademia Carracci and Nicolas Poussin’s painting “The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus” (1629). The transition to modern times is marked by the series “Astronomical Observations” (1711) by Donato Cresti, an artist from Bologna.