Raphael, Titian, Rubens. Masterpieces from Galleria Borghese to Palazzo Barberini

29 March 2024 - 30 June 2024

From March 29 to June 30, 2024, fifty paintings from Galleria Borghese will be transferred to the South Wing of the main floor of Palazzo Barberini. The Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica and the Galleria Borghese are collaborating to allow the public to continue enjoying the heritage preserved on the first floor of the Galleria Borghese during the ambitious renovation and conservation project made possible by the funds of the PNRR. This initiative provides a unique opportunity to bring together two collections that share a similar history, linked to two crucial figures in the political and cultural life of 17th-century in Rome, Maffeo Barberini and Scipione Borghese, in an ideal historical, cultural, and geographical proximity. Absolute masterpieces, such as Antonello da Messina’s Portrait of a Man, Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child, Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna with Child, St. John, and Angels, Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Woman with Unicorn, Peter Paul Rubens’ Susanna and the Elders, Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, Paolo Veronese’s Preaching of St. John, and many other works of art will continue to be accessible to the public.

“The event holds the highest institutional value as a testament to the connection, not only geographically but also professionally, between the two museums. Following in the footsteps of Scipione Borghese and Maffeo Barberini, who would rejoice in this initiative today, we hope people can admire Borghese’s masterpieces at Palazzo Barberini and celebrate this scarcely repeatable exhibition in the next decades”,
Thomas Clement Salomon, the director of the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica said.

“As significant interventions of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) unfold, transforming the appearance of the painting gallery at the first floor of the building, the Galleria Borghese, with an exceptional effort from all its staff, will remain open throughout the works. The exhibition at Palazzo Barberini will allow the Galleria’s heritage to be visible and establish connections with another exceptional Baroque collection and another prominent museum institution,” Francesca Cappelletti, Director of the Galleria Borghese stated.

At the Galleria Borghese, following the restoration of facades, PNRR works will involve replacing tapestries, upgrading fixtures for energy efficiency, expanding cultural accessibility, updating storage, and restoring some large canvases. The project’s complexity will be presented as a prologue to the exhibition at Palazzo Barberini.

At Palazzo Barberini, the temporary dismantling of the South Wing rooms will provide an opportunity for an in-depth photographic and preventive conservation campaign for the works usually displayed in these spaces: from the Neapolitan seventeenth century to the eighteenth-century collection, from Mattia Preti to Grand Tour painters.

Throughout the exhibition period, ticket discounts are available. The Galleria Borghese ticket is reduced to 11 euros (not including mandatory reservation fees, free admissions, and legal reductions). Those who reserve a Galleria Borghese ticket are entitled to visit the Galleria Nazionali di Arte Antica at the reduced cost of 5 euros, enjoying the extraordinary heritage and ongoing initiatives.

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