Galleria Nazionale

Rooms 29 - 32


Rooms 29 and 30

This space belongs to the extension of the palace along what is now Corso Vannucci that was carried out in 1429-43.

Room 29

Coronation of the Virgin (ca. 1528)

Sister Girolama, the Abbess of San Tommaso commissioned this altarpiece from Bernardino di Mariotto.  It was transferred from to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810.

The altarpiece depicts Christ crowning the Virgin in a mandorla of clouds and seraphim, with a pair of musical angels below.  Another pair of angels above carry garland of jewels and flowers.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1530)

This panel, which is attributed to Bernardino di Mariotto, is of unknown provenance. 

The panel depicts the kneeling Madonna passing the baby Jesus to St Anne, who is seated under a curtain pagoda.  SS Sebastian and Roch look on from the right, along with two young angels.  One of these holds a finch while the baby Jesus holds a pomegranate, both of which are symbols of the Passion.

Mystical Marriage of St Catherine (ca. 1530)

This panel, which is attributed to Bernardino di Mariotto, was transferred from Santa Caterina Nuova to the gallery in 1869.  The nuns probably commissioned it for their original nunnery outside Porta Sant’ Angelo and brought it with them to Santa Caterina Nuova in 1648.

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with a dove representing the Holy Spirit above and the young St John the Baptist below.  SS Catherine of Alexandria and Peter stand to the left, and St Mary Magdalene and a bishop saint stand to the right.  The Madonna holds the hand of St Catherine while the baby Jesus places a ring on her wedding finger.

Room 30

Holy Family with St John the Baptist (1560)

This damaged altarpiece was recorded in the 18th century in the Cappella di Santa Lucia, Sant’ Agostino, which belonged to Nicolò Febo degli Scotti, with an attribution to Raffaellino del Colle and the date of 1560.  It entered the gallery from the Accademia di Belle Arti.  

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS John the Baptist and Joseph.  The baby Jesus holds the flowering staff that is the traditional attribute of St Joseph, and two baby angels hold a crown above the head of the Madonna.

 Pietà  (1522)

This lunette-shaped panel, which is signed by Domenico Alfani and dated, was described in the 19th century in  Santa Maria Nuova, where it was displayed in the Altare dell’ Annunziata above a processional banner attributed to Nicolò Liberatore, called l’ Alunno (Room 12).  It was almost certainly commissioned for Santa Maria dei Servi, where it would have formed part of a larger altarpiece, the other panels of which no longer survive.  It probably moved to Santa Maria Nuova in 1540, and entered the gallery in 1863.  

The surviving panel depicts the dead Christ with the Virgin, SS John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene and another pious woman.  

Room 31

This space behind the tower of Cola di Benvenuto Servitori was added to the palace  in ca. 1330.  The original chapel (now the first part of Room 4) is directly above.

Sapienza Vecchia Altarpiece (1518)

This altarpiece from the Sapienza Vecchia, which is the masterpiece of Domenico Alfani, is signed and dated.  The Commune bought it for the gallery in 1885. The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Gregory and Nicholas of Bari.  Two flying angels crown the Madonna.  The frame is original but was substantially repainted in the 18th century.

Birth of the Virgin (1561)

The Confraternita di San Crispino (cobblers' guild) seems to have commissioned this altarpiece, which is attributed to Dono Doni, for their altar in Sant’ Agostino.  It originally had a predella (now lost) in which the date was inscribed.  It entered the Accademia di Belle Arti following the remodelling of the church in 1794-1803.

Panels from the Chiesa del Gesù (ca. 1550)

These two panels, which depict the Holy Family and the Rest on the Flight to Egypt, are attributed to Orazio Alfani.  Cards that were attached to them identified them as part of the collection that Simonetto Anastagi left to the Collegio dei Gesuiti in 1602.  They were recorded in the 18th century on the counter-façade of the Chiesa del Gesù, near an inscription that recorded the donation.  They entered the gallery in 1863.

Room 32

This space (along with Room 22 behind it) was added to the palace  in in 1443-50.  The new Cappella dei Priori (now Room 21) is directly above.

Adoration of the Shepherds (ca. 1535)

The original provenance of this altarpiece, which is attributed to Domenico Alfani, is unknown. 

Nativity with St Anne (1536)

This altarpiece from San Francesco al Prato was probably the work that Cardinal Francesco Armellini commissioned from Domenico Alfani in 1536.  Although it was listed among works to be sent to the Musei Capitolini, Rome in 1812, it was subsequently decided that it should remain in the church.  The predella has been lost, but the main panel entered the gallery in 1863.  

The altarpiece depicts the newly born Jesus lying on the ground in a meadow outside the stable, surrounded by the Virgin and SS Joseph and Anne.  Three baby angels sing from a common hymn book, and a group of shepherds looks on.

Frescoes from Palazzo Pontani (1535)

Guglielmo Pontani commissioned these frescoes for the room in his palace in which he lectured on civil law.  They have recently been attributed to Giovan Battista Caporali.  They were detached (along with others in the store of the gallery) in 1836 when the palace was demolished (see Walk IV).  The works include an interesting view of the palace.