Galleria Nazionale

Deposit

Crucifixion with saints (14th century)

This large fresco, which re-discovered on the altar wall of the crypt of San Francesco al Prato in 1888 and detached in the 1920s, is one of the autograph works of the so-called Maestro di San Francesco al Prato.  It depicts the Crucifixion with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist and four Franciscan saints.

Two other frescoes by the same artist that were originally in niches to either side are exhibited in the gallery (Room 1).  They depict:

• the Marriage of the Virgin; and

• the Dormition of the Virgin.

Martyrdom of St Juliana (late 14th century)

This fresco from a lunette in the nunnery of Santa Giuliana was detached in 1862 and entered the gallery a year later.

In the fresco, St Juliana hangs by her hair and is comforted by an angel while three men inflict further tortures: one pours molten lead over her while the other two beat her with clubs.

Altarpiece of the Blessed Giles (ca. 1439)

This altarpiece from San Francesco al Prato, which is attributed to Mariano d’ Antonio, was commissioned in ca. 1439 as part of the renovation of the shrine of the Blessed Giles.  According to tradition, it was painted on the wooden panel upon which Giles’ body had been carried for burial from his hermitage on the site that later became the Convento di Monteripido to San Francesco al Prato. 

The altarpiece was moved to the sacristy in ca. 1513 and from the church in 1863.  It was already damaged when it entered the gallery in 1872, and suffered further during its stay in the Convento di Monteripido in the period 1923-54.

The altarpiece depicts Giles standing in a fictive aedicule, with three scenes from his life and posthumous miracles to each side.  This format was consciously archaic and based on that of a number of panels that had been produced in the 13th century to celebrate the canonisation of St Francis. 

Panels from a Polyptych (1467-8)

Giorgio Vasari referred in 1568 to two altarpieces in San Domenico by Benedetto Bonfigli, one of which depicted  "many saints".  This altarpiece was probably associated with a payment made to Benedetto Bonfigli and Bartolomeo Caporali in 1467-8 according to the will of a merchant, Francesco di Pietro for an altarpiece for the Cappella di San Vicenzo Ferrer (the 2nd on the left in the nave).  Four panels that were moved to the Galleria Nazionale from the sacristy in 1863 probably belonged to this alparpiece:

• two panels of the figures of the Annunciation that are attributed to Bartolomeo Caporali (now in Room 15/16); and

• two panels of pairs of saints that are attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli that are now in the deposit of the gallery.

The other two panels depict:

• SS Catherine of Alexandria and Peter; and

• SS Paul and Peter Martyr.

They might have flanked a central figure of St Vincent Ferrer, thus justifying Vasari's description of the altarpiece.

Madonna and Child with donor (1492)

The inscription at the base of this panel reveals that it was commissioned by a Benedictine nun, Giacoma di Baldo Perigli as an ex voto offering.  It is sometimes attributed to Bernardino di Mariotto, but has more recently been attributed to his teacher, Ludovico d’ Angelo.  It was transferred from San Francesco delle Donne to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810.

The panel depicts the Madonna and Child, with a nun kneeling to the left.  She must be Sister Giacoma di Baldo Perigli, who was presumably a member of the community at San Francesco delle Donne.

Frescoes from San Nicolò (1498)

These damaged frescoes, which are dated by inscription and attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, came from the parish church of San Nicolò, which later became San Giorgio dei Tessitori.  They were detached in 1878, just before the church was demolished to make way for the Istituto di Pena Maschile.

The surviving frescoes depict:

• the mystic marriage of St Catherine, with St Nicholas of Bari (Room 24);

• the Nativity, in which  the new born baby Jesus lies naked in a meadow in front of the stable, venerated by the kneeling Virgin and St Joseph; and

• figures of SS Sebastian, Francis and John the Baptist.
  

Angels with instruments of the Passion (15th century)

These four panels, have recently been attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli, came to the gallery in 1863 as two pairs:

• one pair from the Accademia di Belle Arte; and

• the other from the sacristy of San Francesco al Prato.

Each panel depicts a pair of angels holding instruments of the Passion of Christ. They probably came originally from a niche in San Francesco al Prato that housed a Crucifix or a statue of the Pietà. 

Perugino

St Francis and penitents (1499)     

The archives of the Confraternita di San Francesco record a series of payments to Perugino for “uno drappellone, which was almost certainly this image on silk.  It was transferred to the gallery from the Oratorio di San Francesco in the mid-19th century.  A modest work like this is likely to have been a workshop production, a hypothesis supported by the fact that one of the payments was made into the hands of the young apprentice, Giovanni Francesco Ciambella (called il Fantasia).

The drape portrays the standing St Francis with four kneeling penitents behind him, against a backdrop of golden silk brocade.  The saint holds a Cross and a closed book, and all of his stigmata are visible.

Martyrdom of St Sebastian (1518)

Giuliano and Sinibaldo Martinello commissioned this altarpiece from Perugino in 1505 for their chapel in San Francesco al Prato.  It was not completed until 1518, the date inscribed on the base of the column to which the saint is tied, and Perugino was forced to litigate in 1520 to obtain the final payment. The altarpiece was moved from its original location at some time in the 16th century, and subsequently suffered serious damage.  It therefore escaped requisition by the French, and was transferred to the gallery in 1863. 

The panel depicts the saint tied to a column in an architectural setting.  Two archers take aim, while two flying angels witness the scene.  The composition is a reduced version of the fresco (1505) that Perugino executed for the church of San Sebastiano, Panicale.

Gonfalon of the Blessed James of the Marche (16th century)

This banner, which is attributed to Perugino, came from the Oratorio dei SS Girolamo, Francesco e Bernardino, which belonged to a confraternity that the Blessed James had founded in 1445.  It was noted in an inventory of the possessions of the confraternity in 1532, but not in an earlier one from 1517, suggesting that it was commissioned thereafter.  The oratory was demolished in 1797, at which point the banner was moved into the adjacent church of San Francesco al Prato.  It was moved to the Accademia di Belle Arte in 1810.  

The banner depicts the Blessed James of the Marche holding a reliquary of the Blood of Christ.

Berto di Giovanni 

Madonna and Child enthroned with saints (1510)

The Confraternita di Sant’ Agostino commissioned this altarpiece, which is dated by inscription, from Berto di Giovanni and Sinibaldo Ibi for the Oratorio di Sant’ Agostino.  It was moved to the sacristy, possibly when the oratory was remodelled in the 17th century.  The confraternity gave it to the gallery in 1872. 

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Augustine and Sebastian.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1518)

This altarpiece was recorded in the 18th century in the sacristy of the Convento di Monteripido, and passed to the gallery in 1863.  It seems to have been commissioned from Perugino in 1518 by Friar Pietro da Castello but has recently been attributed at least in part to his associate, Berto di Giovanni.

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned in a landscape, flanked by the kneeling SS James and Francis.  Two flying angels hold a crown above the head of the Madonna.

Eusebio da San Giorgio

Madonna degli Alberelli (1508-9)

This altarpiece from the Oratorio di San Benedetto was first recorded as the subject of a dispute between the subject of a dispute between the Confraternita di San Benedetto and the artist from whom it was commissioned, Eusebio da San Giorgio.  It was originally in a wooden frame by Giovanni Battista di Cecco (called Bastone), and moved to a stucco frame that survives in the ex-oratory later in the 16th century.  The altarpiece was moved to the gallery in 1863 (replaced by a black and white copy that survives in situ) and restored in 1960. 

The altarpiece, which depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS John the Baptist and Benedict, takes its names from the trees that flank the throne.

Madonna and Child with saints (1509)

This altarpiece from Sant’ Agostino, which is dated by inscription,  seems to be the work that Bartolomeo di Lorenzo commissioned from Eusebio da San Giorgio in 1506 for his family chapel there.  The initials LA SI at the end of the inscription might indicate the involvement of two associates of Eusebio: Lodovico d’ Angelo and Sinibaldo Ibi.  The altarpiece passed to the gallery in 1863.

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Peter, Catherine of Alexandria, Agatha and Paul and two praying angels above.

SS Antony Abbot, Francis and Bernardino (ca. 1513)

This altarpiece seems to have been commissioned from Eusebio da San Giorgio in 1513 for San Francesco al Prato according to the will of Carlo Berardelli.  It passed to the gallery in 1863. 

The altarpiece depicts St Antony Abbot enthroned with SS Francis and Bernardino of Siena, with the Madonna and Child above, enthroned on clouds and surrounded by cherubs. 

A recently discovered predella panel attributed to Berto di Giovanni that is now in Room 27 seems to have belonged to this altarpiece.  It depicts the Pietà with St Mary Magdalene and a female martyr in tondi.

Giannicola di Paolo

Crucifixion (1501)

This detached fresco from the Oratorio di San Domenico is almost certainly the work that was the subject of a payment by the Confraternita di San Domenico to Giannicola di Paolo in 1501, and it is the earliest known work that can be assigned securely to him.  The fresco was detached in the 18th century from the wall behind the altar.  It entered the gallery in 1878 and was transferred on to canvas in 1947.

The fresco, which depicts the monumental body of Christ on the Cross set in a landscape, seems to be based on a design by Perugino.

Crucifixion (early 16th century)

This fresco, which was detached from the wall of the Prior’s apartment in the Abbazia di San Severo in 1863, is attributed to Giannicola di Paolo.  

Incredulity of St Thomas (1530s)

This altarpiece, which is attributed to Giannicola di Paolo and dated on stylistic grounds to the 1530s, came from the Monastero di San Tommaso.  It was on the high altar of the church until 1879, when it moved to the gallery and was replaced by a copy.  The nuns took the copy with them when they moved to the Monastero della Beata Colomba, and it is now on the left wall of the church there. 

The altarpiece depicts the risen Christ standing in a landscape while St Thomas examines the wound in His side and St John the Evangelist records the scene for his gospel.  To the right, SS George, Benedict and Antony Abbot look on.  The figures of SS Dominic and Antony Aquinas to the left were added later, almost certainly after 1555, when the nuns were transferred from the Cistercian to the Dominican Order: they possibly replaced an original figure of St Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian founder.

Sinibaldo Ibi

Gonfalon of St Antony Abbot (1512)

The Confraternita di Sant’ Antonio Abate gave this processional banner to the gallery in 1907.  Although there is no earlier record of it, it almost certainly came from the Oratorio di Sant’ Antonio Abate.  The banner, which is signed by Sinibaldo Ibi and dated on the reverse, depicts St Antony Abbot enthroned with two members of the confraternity.

Madonna and Child with saints (1515)

Antonio and the heirs of Bernardino di Piergiovanni de Catrano (who belonged to a cadet Benincasa branch of the Ansidei family) commissioned this altarpiece from Sinibaldo Ibi for the Cappella del Beato Filippo Benizi in San Fiorenzo, which they endowed in 1515. 

• The main panel, which depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS John the Baptist, Philip Benizi, Florentius and Joseph, passed to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810. 

• The predella, which seems to have included a panel of the Marriage of the Virgin, has been lost.
  

Madonna and Child with saints (1518)

According to the inscriptions, Luca Alberto Podiani commissioned this altarpiece in 1518 from Sinibaldo Ibi.  [Luca Alberto Podiani (1474-1551) was a celebrated doctor and scholar, rector of the Sapienza Vecchia in the period 1504-20.] There are two possibilities for its original location:

• the Convento di Monteripido, where, according to his will of 1548, Luca wished to be buried; or

• Sant’ Agostino, where Luca was actually buried in 1555, in his family chapel that was dedicated to St Leonard.

The altarpiece, which entered the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810, depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Francis and Leonard.  Two flying angels above who hold a crown above the head of the Madonna.

Annunciation (1525-8) 

The procurators of the Ospedale di Santa Maria Annunziata, which was owned by the Collegio dei Notai (notaries’ guild), commissioned this altarpiece, which is signed by Sinibaldo Ibi and dated 1528, along with a frame from Giovanni Battista di Cecco (il Bastone).  The altarpiece was subsequently moved to the Collegio dei Notai, probably in 1588 before that building was partly demolished, changing places with another altarpiece of the same subject that is attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli (Room 14).  It seems to have returned to its original location in the early 19th century, and entered the gallery in 1863. 

Domenico Alfani

Holy Family (1520)

This panel, which is dated by inscription and attributed to Pompeo d' Anselmo and Domenico Alfani, came from the high altar of San Simone dei Carmine.  It was removed from the altar in 1813 for dispatch to Rome (probably because it was then attributed to Perugino).   However, it was subsequently decided that it should stay in the church, and it was re-installed early in the following year.  It entered the gallery in 1863.

The altarpiece depicts the Virgin seated in a landscape.  The standing baby Jesus leans across her lap to take a pomegranate from St Joseph, who is seated nearby.  The young St John the Baptist draws the viewer's attention to this act, which foreshadows the Passion.  The Virgin's parents, SS Anne and Joachim stand to the sides.   Puttis play in the clouds, below the Holy Spirit represented as a dove.

The design of the central figure group is taken from a sketch (ca. 1507) that Raphael sent to Domenico Alfani that is now in the Palais des Beaux Arts, Lille. 

Madonna and Child with saints (1524)

Severo di Paride Petrini commissioned this altarpiece, which is dated, from Domenico Alfani for his family chapel in the right wall of Sant’ Agostino.  The final payment for the work was delayed until 1541.  The altarpiece was removed from the chapel in 1799 church in 1810 and passed to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810.   

The altarpiece depicts the enthroned Madonna crowned by angels holding the hand of the standing, naked baby Jesus, with SS Peter, Paul, Nicholas of Bari and Lucy.

Madonna and Child with saints (1532)

This altarpiece, which is signed by Domenico Alfani and dated, came from Santa Giuliana.   Agostino Tofanelli, the Director of the Musei Capitolini took the altarpiece to Rome in 1811, and it was returned to the church in 1815.  It was transferred to the gallery in 1863. 

• The main panel depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS John the Baptist and Juliana. 

• The predella depicts scenes from the martyrdom of St Juliana.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1537)

This altarpiece which is attributed to Domenico Alfani, was sent to France in 1797, returned to the church in 1815, and transferred to the gallery in 1863.  Its predella has been lost.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1537)

This altarpiece is attributed to Domenico Alfani,came from San Francesco al Prato.  Napoleon's commissioner, Jacques-Pierre Tinet selected it for confiscation  in 1797.  Antonio Canova recovered it in 1815 and it was returned to the church. 

• The main panel depicts the Madonna and Child with St Joseph and the young St John the Baptist, with SS Francis and Antony of Padua kneeling below.  It was transferred to the Galleria Nazionale in 1863. 
  

• The predella, which does not seem to have been sent to France, has been lost.
  

Bernardino di Mariotto

Altarpiece of the Olivetans (1533)

The inscription records that Andrea di Narduccio gave this altarpiece to “the brothers” (i.e. the Olivetan monks of San Secondo, Isole Polvese del Trasimeno) in 1533.  It is attributed to Bernardino di Mariotto.  When the monks abandoned San Secondo in 1624 for Sant’ Antonio Abate, Perugia, they brought the altarpiece with them.  It was recorded there in the 19th century, but it seems to have passed to the Camaldolesian church of San Severo before its entry into the gallery in 1863. 

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Andrew (the name saint of the donor) and Julian.  The latter is, according to a late tradition, a portrait of Gianpaolo Baglioni.

Madonna and Child with Saints (16th century)

This panel, which is attributed to Bernardino di Mariotto, passed from San Francesco delle Donne to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810. 

The panel depicts the Madonna and Child with the young St John the Baptist and SS Benedict and Francis.

Dono Doni

Immaculate Conception (16th century)

This altarpiece, which is attributed to Dono Doni, passed from San Francesco al Prato to the gallery in 1872. 

In the altarpiece, the Virgin stands in the upper half of the composition, surrounded by angels, while prophets and sibyls below hold texts that predict her immaculate conception.

Last Judgement (16th century)

The Baldeschi family seem to have commissioned this altarpiece, which is attributed to Dono Doni, for their chapel in San Francesco al Prato.  It passed to the gallery in 1863.

God the Father appears in the upper part of the composition, pointing to St Michael Archangel, who is about to spear the Devil below.  The saved congregate are assembled to the left, at the foot of a flight of steps that lead to heaven, while the damned to the right prepare to enter the jaws of Hell.

Lo Spagna

St Francis receives the stigmata (ca. 1500)    

This fresco, which was detached from the facade of the Convento di Monteripido in 1858 and moved to the gallery in 1863, is attributed to Lo Spagna. 

The fresco depicts St Francis kneeling in a landscape as a seraph nailed to a Cross appears to him in the sky above.  To the right, two of his companions obliviously continue reading.

Altarpiece of the Nativity (early 16th century)

The lay sisters of the Compagnia di Nostra Donna commissioned this altarpiece from Lo Spagna for their altar in Sant’ Antonio Abate.  However, he completed only the central panel, and in 1510 they commissioned the lunette and predella from Mariano di Ser Austerio.  The Olivetans took it to Montemorcino Nuovo in 1740, and it subsequently passed to the Accademia di Belle Arti.

• The main panel, which depicts the Nativity, was given to the Joseph Marie de Gérando, a French administrator in Rome, and his heirs subsequently sold it to the Louvre, Paris.

• The lunette and predella panels passed to the gallery. 

Other Artists

Altarpiece of the Franciscans (1517)

This damaged work is signed by Luca Signorelli and dated, but seems to have been largely a workshop production.    It came from came from the Observant Franciscans' Convento di Sant’ Antonio di Padova, Paciano Vecchio, outside Perugia. 

The work is in its original frame.  The main panel depicts the Madonna and Child in glory with SS Michael, Laurence, Francis, Sebastian, Antony Abbot and Antony of Padua.  (The kneeling figures of SS Francis and Antony of Padua in the foreground could be by Signorelli himself).

The predella patterns relate to four of the depicted saints:

• the dream of Pope Innocent III, in which St Francis supports the Church (represented by San Giovanni Laterano, Rome);

• the martyrdom of St Laurence;

• the meeting of SS Antony Abbot and Paul the Hermit in the Egyptian desert; and

• the miracle of St Antony of Padua and the dead miser's heart (which was found to contain his money, as the saint had predicted).
  

Crucifixion (1522)

This fresco, which is dated, was detached from the right wall of the Oratorio di Santa Maria della Consolazione in 1902 and transferred to the gallery.  It is attributed variously to Mariano di Ser Austerio or Pompeo Cocchi. 

The fresco depicts the Crucifixion with the Virgin and SS John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene.  Angels kneeling on clouds collect the blood from the wounds in the hands of Christ.

Trinity with the Virgin and Saints (1553)

Sforza di Lionello degli Oddi commissioned this documented altarpiece from Vincenzo and Lattanzio Pagani and Tommaso Papacello for the Cappella degli Oddi in San Francesco al Prato.  It was transferred to the gallery  in 1863.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1610)

This altarpiece by Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia passed from San Domenico to the gallery in 1863.

The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child on a cloud above a cityscape of Perugia, in which San Domenico appears at the centre.  The Madonna passes a rosary to St Dominic while the baby Jesus is about to crown the Blessed Colomba da Rieti with a crown of roses.  She holds her attribute, a dove, and points to a putto that holds a plaque inscribed with a plea for mercy for the people of Perugia.  The altarpiece was probably commissioned during the period 1610-2, which was a time of natural disasters in Perugia.

St Florentius (ca. 1630)

This altarpiece by Antonio Maria Fabrizi came from San Fiorenzo.