Galleria Nazionale

Rooms 1-3

Room 1 This room, which extends across the palace from Corso Vannucci to Via della Gabbia, formed part of the extension that was carried out in 1317-26 to accommodate the Priori delle Arti.  It was known as the Sala Maggiore, and must have been the most prestigious part of the palace complex.  The walls were covered with frescoes in 1378, but no trace of these survives.   This room was divided in 1472, when the back part (i.e. towards Via della Gabbia) became the Udienza Nuova (new audience chamber).  This room was damaged by fire in 1506 and its wooden ceiling was destroyed.  The current stone vaults of Room 1 room were built in 1513.

Deposed Christ (1236)

This polychrome wooden figure of the dead Christ originally formed part of a group depicting the Deposition of Christ, with the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to the sides.  The heavily restored figure of the Virgin remains in the original location, the church of Santa Maria di Roncione near Deruta.  The date is inscribed at the foot of the cross.

This work is closely related to the so-called Tivoli Deposition (ca. 1220), which is still preserved in the Duomo, Tivoli.  Similar and broadly contemporary works were executed elsewhere in central Italy, although most of them have been dispersed or lost.

San Felice Dossal (ca. 1250)

This dossal, which is the autograph work of the Maestro di San Felice di Giano, came from the Abbazia di San Felice, Giano dell' Umbria (30 km from Perugia).  It was removed to the local gallery in 1922 and subsequently to its present location.

In the centre of the dossal, Christ sits in judgment in a mandorla, with censing angels to the sides.  Full-length figures occupy two registers to each side:

• the top register contains figures of SS Andrew, Simon and Paul and the Virgin to the left; and SS John the Baptist, Peter, James and Philip to the right; and

• the middle register contains figures of prophets.

Tondi below the figure of Christ contain the Lamb of God and the symbols of the Evangelists, with scenes from the martyrdom of St Felix to the sides.

Marzolini Triptych (ca. 1275)

The triptych, which is the autograph work of the Maestro del Trittico Marzolini (or Maestro del Trittico di Perugia), probably came from the Templars’ church of San Bevignate.  It depicts:

• the Madonna and Child in the central panel;

• scenes from the life of Christ on the left; and

• scenes from the Passion on the right.

The fact that the Templars commissioned the work is evidenced by an altar cloth in the scene of the Presentation at the Temple, which is decorated with their distinctive red cross. 

The Templars were accused of heresy in 1307, and the Franciscans of San Francesco al Prato were appointed to act as Inquisitors at San Bevignate.  Their goods were confiscated at this point and the triptych later found its way to the Franciscan nunnery of Sant’ Agnese.  The nuns probably commissioned the later paintings of SS Francis and Clare on the outer sides of the covers.

In 1907, when the triptych was exhibited in Perugia, it was recorded as the property of Monsignor N. Marzolini.  It passed to the gallery shortly thereafter.

Farneto Dossal (ca. 1290)

The panel, which is the autograph work of the Maestro del Farneto, came from the Franciscan Convento di Farneto, outside Perugia and passed to the gallery in 1863.

The dossal depicts a half-length figure of the Madonna and Child at the centre, with two scenes from the Passion of Christ on each side.  

Santa Giuliana Dossal (1291)

This dossal, which is signed and dated, is the only known work by Vigoroso da Siena, and is the earliest surviving work in Perugia by a "foreign" artist.  It probably came from Santa Giuliana, although it belonged to the Collegio della Mercanzia in 1879, the date at which it entered the gallery.

The dossal depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and Juliana (who is identified by inscription).  Christ in Glory is depicted above the Madonna and Child, and an angel is depicted above each of the saints.

The format of the dossal is intermediate between the early dossals (in which the figures occupied a single field) and later polyptychs (in which the figures occupied separate panels).  Thus, while it is made up of horizontal rather than vertical planks:

• carved arches separate the figures in the lower register, and

• the figures in the upper register are arranged in five distinct gables cut into the upper plank.

Processional Crucifix (ca. 1272)

This small, double-sided processional Crucifix, which is attributed to the Maestro di San Francesco or sometimes to a follower, was documented in the 19th century at Santa Maria della Misercordia. 

Each side depicts the suffering Christ on the cross, with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist to the sides.  In addition, on one side, there is a small half-length figure of the praying Virgin between angels above the cross, and a small kneeling figure of St Francis kissing the right foot of Christ.  The figure of St Francis was over-painted at some point to remove his attributes of the stigmata and the Franciscan cord, but these original features were revealed in a recent restoration.

Tabernacle (late 13th century)

This tabernacle was documented in the Accademia di Belle Arti in the late 19th century and listed in an inventory of 1918 as having come from San Severo.  The central panel contains four scenes:

• St Anne and the baby Mary enthroned;

• Madonna and Child;

• Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist; and

• Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Each of the side panels has pairs of saints in three registers:

• SS Peter and Paul; a monk and an angel; and SS Catherine of Alexandria and Cecilia on the left; and

• SS John the Baptist and Laurence; SS Augustine and the Blessed Sperandius (identified by inscriptions); and St James and another Apostle on the right.

Two angels above the central panel can still be seen when the doors of the tabernacle are closed.

Marble Fragments from the Fontana Maggiore (1278)

These sculptures from the Fontana Maggiore by Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano comprise:

• the personification of Rome (from the middle basin of the fountain); and

• the related pair of reliefs of Romulus and Remus suckled by a she-wolf and of their mother Rea Silvia (from the lower basin).

They were damaged in the uprising of 1859 because they exemplified Perugia's erstwhile allegiance to the papacy, and were removed during the restoration of the fountain in 1948.

Three Water Carriers (1278)

This bronze group of three female water carriers supporting an amphora acted as the input conduit for water into the bronze upper basin of the Fontana Maggiore.  It was replaced by a copy and moved to the gallery in 1998.

The group was cast as a single piece, perhaps by Rubeus [Rosso Padellaio??], the artisan who cast the basin itself.  The design is sometimes attributed to Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano.

Two Griffins and Two Lions (late 13th century)

This bronze group of four animals was cast in a single piece.  The identity of the sculptor and the original location are unknown.  The group was documented as being located at the top of the Fontana Maggiore (above the three water carriers described above) in 1508 and was moved to the gallery during the restoration of 1948.

Fragments from the Fontana Minore (1278-81)

The Fontana Minore, which stood in modern Corso Vannucci, ceased to function (possibly through an interruption in the water supply) in 1301 and was demolished in 1308.  The sculptures commissioned for this fountain are the earliest works by Arnolfo di Cambio for which documentation survives.  

The history of the few fragments that survived the demolition in 1308 is unclear until they were collected together in the period 1872-1968.   They comprise:

• two seated jurists, one of which is headless;

• two reclining figures in deep relief; and

• a relief of a thirsting woman at the well.

Lion and Griffin (1274)

The Commune probably commissioned these magnificent bronze statues in 1274 for use in the annual procession on the feast of St Herculanus.  An artist known as the Maestro del 1274 cast each of the figures in a single piece.  The griffin's wings were added in 1281, at which point both figures were gilded. 

The figures were subsequently used on the Fontana Minore (see above), and when this fountain was demolished in 1301, they were placed above the external portal of what is now known as the Sala dei Notai, Palazzo dei Priori.  They were removed for examination and restoration in 1951, returned to their original locations in 1973, and replaced by copies in 1985.

Frescoes from San Francesco al Prato (14th century)

These frescoes, which were re-discovered on the altar wall of the crypt of San Francesco al Prato in 1888 and detached in the 1920s, are the autograph works of the so-called Maestro di San Francesco al Prato (not to be confused with the earlier Maetro di San Francesco – see Room 1a below).  They depict:

• the Marriage of the Virgin; and

• the Dormition of the Virgin.

They were originally in niches that flanked a large fresco of the Crucifixion with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist and four Franciscan saints that is now in the deposit of the gallery.

Galleria Nazionale (Room 1).

Frescoes from Santa Giuliana (ca. 1380)

These two frescoes, which were detached before 1878 from a lunette in the nunnery of Santa Giuliana, depict:

• the Nativity; and

• the adoration of the shepherds.

Room 1a This small room, which is opposite and to the right of the entrance to the gallery, was built over Via dei Priori in 1506 (after the fire in the Udienza Nuova mentioned above) to link the Cappella dei Priori (now Room 21) to the Sala Maggiore.  The entrance to this new room from the Sala Maggiore was opened using one of the windows in what had originally been an external wall.

Crucifix with St Francis (1272)

This large painted Crucifix is the only dated work that is attributed to the Maestro di San Francesco.  It originally hung above the high altar of San Francesco al Prato, but when the church suffered subsidence in 1737, it was moved to the adjacent Oratorio di San Bernardino.  It entered the gallery in 1863.

The Crucifix employs the iconography of "Christus Patiens" (i.e. it depicts the suffering figure of Christ on the Cross) that had been introduced to Italy from Byzantium earlier in the century. 

• The grieving Virgin and St John the Evangelist flank the outstretched arms of Christ.

• A small half-length figure of the praying Virgin between angels terminates the vertical arm of the cross, with Christ the Redeemer in a tondo above.

• The stigmatised St Francis kneels at the foot of the cross, contemplating the wounds in the feet of Christ.

Panels from a polyptych (ca. 1272)

These six panels, which are attributed to the Maestro di San Francesco, came from a polyptych in San Francesco al Prato.  Another four panels from this work survive in other galleries (see below).  Close examination of these ten panels has established that they constituted less than half those that originally belonged to a double-sided polyptych with a monumental frame.  This polyptych, which is the first double-sided altarpiece of which we are aware, almost certainly stood on the high altar of San Francesco, with one side facing the friars in the retro-choir and the other side facing the congregation in the nave.

The panels facing the friars would have been (from left to right):

• a saint and/or prophet, probably St Francis (lost);
  

• two scenes from the Passion (lost);
  

• a saint and/or prophet, probably the prophet Jeremiah (lost);
  

• a central scene, probably of the Crucifixion (lost);

• the prophet Isaiah (Treasury of San Francesco, Assisi);

• the Deposition of Christ (exhibited here);
  

• the Lamentation (exhibited here); and

• St Antony of Padua (exhibited here).

The panels facing the congregation would have been (from left to right):

• the stigmatised St Francis, whose Gospel is open at Galatians 2:19, “I have been crucified with Christ” (exhibited here);  

• SS  Simon and Bartholomew (Metropolitan Museum, New York);

• St James Minor (National Gallery, Washington)

• St Andrew (exhibited here);
  

• a central scene, probably of the Madonna and Child (lost);

• four other panels, including St Peter (exhibited here) and St John the Evangelist  (National Gallery, Washington).

The polyptych was replaced in 1403 and subsequently dismembered.  The panels, which were probably moved initially to the sacristy, were subsequently dispersed. 

• All of those that are now in America and the panel of St Peter passed to the Arciconfraternita della Pietà del Camposanto Teutonico, Rome at some point and were on-sold in 1921. 

• The panels that were dispersed within the various collections in Perugia were reunited in the gallery over the five decades up to 1932. 

• The panel of St Peter found its way to a private collection in Brussels and was acquired by the gallery in 2001.

Room 2 This room was built above Via dei Priori in ca. 1330 and was referred to in 1380 as the "ante-cappella" or entrance to the Cappella dei Priori (now the first part of Room 4).

Madonna and Child with angels and saints (early 14th century)

This altarpiece was moved from the Abbazia di San Paolo di Valdiponte, Civitella Benazzone, outside Perugia to the gallery in 1863. 

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with angels and two saints:

• St Paul stands to the left.  The signature on the sword of St Paul reads: “Marinus P”: this artist is usually identified as the miniaturist Marino d’ Elemosina, who was documented in 1309 and/ or with Marino di Oderisio, who was the head of the painters’ guild in 1318.

• The monk to the right is sometimes identified as St Peter Celestine, because the abbey was known as the Celestina.  St Peter Celestine, who reigned as Pope Celestine V for a few months in 1294 and was canonised in 1313, did indeed form a Benedictine congregation, but there is no evidence that San Paolo di Valdiponte ever belonged to it.  It was known as the Celestina only after 1585, by which time it belonged to the Congregazione di San Giorgio in Alga; the word Celestina derived from the canons' blue habits.
  

Madonna and Child (early 14th century)

The earliest secure reference to this important panel dates to the 19th century, when it was in the Convento di San Domenico, near the door leading to the sacristy of the church.  It was moved to the gallery in 1863.  Bernard Berenson attributed it to Duccio Buoninsegna in 1897, and this attribution has never subsequently been questioned. 

A recent restoration has revealed that it was originally the central panel of a polyptych: this would have been one of the first polyptychs in Umbria.   The commission was broadly contemporary with that of Duccio's polyptych for the Dominicans of Siena (ca. 1306).  In the Perugian panel, the Madonna points to the hands and feet of the Child, prefiguring His Crucifixion, while six praying angels look down from spandrels above the fictive semicircular frame.  The naturalistic representation of the figures is closely related to that in Duccio’s famous Maestà (1308-11) from the Duomo, Siena. 

The new church of San Domenico was begun in 1304, and it seems likely that this prestigious altarpiece was intended for its high altar.  However, the construction of the new church turned out to be a protracted business, and the altarpiece must have been housed, at least for a time, in one of the Dominicans' earlier churches, either San Stefano del Castellare or San Domenico Vecchio.

Madonna and Child (ca. 1310)

This panel, which is probably the earliest work to be attributed to Meo di Guido da Siena, was part of a polyptych from Santa Maria della Misercordia.  It entered the gallery in 1879.

Montelabate Polyptych (ca. 1315)

This polyptych, which is signed by Meo di Guido da Siena, came from the high altar of the Abbazia di Santa Maria di Valdiponte, Montelabate, outside Perugia.  It was dismembered in the late 18th century, after which time the panels were displayed separately in various parts of the church.  Most of the panels entered the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810: however, the central panel and the predella remained in the church until 1863, when most of the surviving panels were reunited in the gallery.  The panel of St Peter passed into private ownership at some point, and was acquired by the gallery in 1968.

The polyptych seems to have been inspired by Duccio’s contemporary work, including his polyptych for San Domenico, Perugia (exhibit 17). 

• The central panel depicts the Madonna and Child with two prophets above above and Christ the Redeemer in the gable.

• The side panels, each of which has an angel in the gable, depict:

• St Gregory, with SS Martha and Catherine of Alexandria above;

• St Peter, with SS Antony Abbot and Benedict above;

• St John the Evangelist, with the saints above missing;  and

• St Emilian, with SS Agnes and Mary Magdalene above.

• The predella depicts the twelve apostles.

Madonna and Child (1325-30)

This altarpiece, which is attributed to Meo di Guido da Siena, was moved from the Abbazia di Santa Maria di Valdiponte, Montelabate, outside Perugia to the gallery in 1863. 

The panel, which depicts the half-length Madonna and Child against a gold background, survives in its original frame and was never part of a polyptych.

Room 3 This small room is formed by the curtain walls of the tower of Cola di Benvenuto Servitori, which was incorporated into the palace in ca. 1330.

Processional Cross (ca. 1290)

This double-sided processional  Cross, which is attributed to the Maestro della Croce di Gubbio, entered the gallery from the Accademia di Belle Arti in the 19th century.

• One side depicts the Crucifixion, with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist to the sides, soldiers on the apron and SS Francis and Antony of Padua at the foot of the Cross.
  

• The other side depicts (much less conventionally) the flagellation of Christ, with a bishop saint below.
  

The presence of Franciscan saints at the foot of the Cross and the presence of the Flagellation of Christ on the reverse suggests that it was originally commissioned for a confraternity of penitents under Franciscan auspices.