15th century Italian masters celebrated in France

Discovered masterpieces by Fra Angelico and Botticelli are the focus of an exhibition at the Musée Condé in Chantilly, north of Paris, from September 8 to January 4.

The exhibition brings together 30 works, from primitive Italian painters to those of 15th century Florence and Siena, which were an important part of the collection of Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale (1822-1897). In his will, the duke gave his collection to the Institut de France of the Château de Chantilly with the obligation of creating a museum to display his collection to the public.

Among the objectives of the curators is to "bring together some polyptychs scattered in the world for decades". Digital images will complement the reconstruction of the works where it was not possible present the originals. A dozen of the pieces shown are on loan from international museums and collections.

For the first time, the recomposition of the multi-panelled Thebaid, a dismembered painting about monastic life by Guido di Pietro, known as Beato Angelico and Fra Angelico (1395-1455).

Other works include San Marco and San Matteo by Beato Angelico; a panel painted by the Sienese master Giovanni di Consolo (1400, about 1450), called Sassetta, for the altar of the Borgo San Sepolcro; panels from a wedding container painted by Botticelli and Filippino Lippi with scenes of Esther and Ahasuerus; the work 'Five angels dance around the Sun '(1436), by Giovanni di Paolo (1398-1482); a drawing by Michelangelo; and the portrait of Simonetta Vespucci by Piero di Cosimo, restored by the Musee Condé.

Source: ANSA [August 27, 2014]