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Restoration of Colantonio's St. Francis ends: panel returns to Capodimonte Museum

by Noemi Capoccia, published on 30/01/2026
Categories: Ancient art / Disclaimer
In Naples, the restoration of Colantonio's San Francesco, a 15th-century masterpiece that thus returns to the Capodimonte Museum, ends. On the first free Sunday in February, new displays feature 18th-century works that have long been unseen and the polyptych of San Lorenzo Maggiore reunited once again.

The return after restoration of Colantonio’s Saint Francis Delivering the Rule to the Franciscan Orders, datable to between 1444 and 1450, marks the symbolic start of the initiatives that the Capodimonte Museum and Real Bosco dedicates in 2026 to the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. Indeed, the patron saint of Italy is widely represented in the museum’s collections through works covering an extended chronological span and different languages.

“The free admission Sunday of Feb. 1,” says Capodimonte Museum and Royal Woods director Eike Schmidt, "can therefore be an opportunity for visitors to admire in renewed splendor the panel painting of the Neapolitan painter protagonist of the Southern Renaissance, but also the new display of paintings and sculptures from the eighteenth-century collections, long unseen. On the second floor in Room 61 (in dialogue with Room 62 known as the Masterpieces, from Caravaggio to Parmigianino to Warhol) exhibited works by Francesco Solimena(Aeneas and Dido), Francesco De Mura(Hymenaeus Taking Off the Veil of Modesty), Giuseppe Sanmartino(Struggle of Cupids) and Sebastiano Ricci(Assumption of Magdalene)."

Colantonio, St. Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders' and detail (150x185 cm)
Colantonio, Saint Francis Delivering the Rule to the Franciscan Orders (150 x 185 cm)
Set up for the room dedicated to Colantonio, with the St. Jerome in his study and two Franciscan beatinos
Arrangement for the room dedicated to Colantonio, with St. Jerome in his study and two Franciscan beatinos
Room 61, which houses works from the eighteenth-century collection
Room 61, which houses works from the 18th-century collection

The return of the St. Francis also allows the known parts of the polyptych from the Neapolitan church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, the oldest Franciscan settlement in the city, to be reunited in Room 67 on the second floor entirely dedicated to Colantonio. The imposing altarpiece, probably commissioned by Alfonso the Magnanimous and originally placed in the church’s central gallery, included the large St. Jerome in his study, titular of the altar, and the large St. Francis, flanked by ten small panels depicting blessed Franciscans. Two of these, Morico and Leo, have recently entered the Capodimonte collections thanks to a purchase by the Ministry of Culture, General Directorate for Architecture, Fine Arts and Landscape. When they arrived in December 2024, the St. Francis was still in the museum’s workshops undergoing restoration, carried out as part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Restitutions program.

Colantonio, active in Naples between about 1440 and 1460 and a master of Antonello da Messina, matured an education attentive to Flemish painting thanks to the presence in the city of Renato d’Anjou, who had probably met artists such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. The execution of the large two-register retable for San Lorenzo engaged the artist for a long period. The dismemberment of the work, which took place around 1639, led to the transfer of the St. Jerome to the church sacristy, while the St. Francis was placed as an altarpiece in the Baroque chapel of the right transept. With the Napoleonic suppressions, the St. Jerome was musealized in 1808, followed only in 1922 by the St. Francis. Both came into the collections of the National Museum and were transferred to Capodimonte in 1957. The remaining eight panels with Franciscan saints identified by scholars are now in private collections in Italy and the United States.

Colantonio, St. Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders' and detail (150x185 cm)
Colantonio, Saint Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders - detail (150 x 185 cm)
Colantonio, St. Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders' and detail (150x185 cm)
Colantonio, Saint Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders - detail (150 x 185 cm)

In anticipation of the 2026 celebrations, which also include the restoration of the national holiday of October 4, Capodimonte will activate thematic and inclusive guided tours dedicated to the figure of St. Francis starting this fall, with itineraries that will include works by Colantonio, Battistello Caracciolo, Nicolò di Tommaso, Mazzola Bedoli and Rodriguez. The itineraries will also touch on historical figures linked to Franciscanism, such as the mathematician Luca Pacioli, depicted by Jacopo de’ Barbari, and Ludovico di Tolosa, painted by Simone Martini, who renounced the Angevin throne for religious life. The second floor of the museum and the Causa room will be closed on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Restoration of Colantonio's St. Francis ends: panel returns to Capodimonte Museum
Restoration of Colantonio's St. Francis ends: panel returns to Capodimonte Museum

Noemi Capoccia

The author of this article: Noemi Capoccia

Originaria di Lecce, classe 1995, ha conseguito la laurea presso l'Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara nel 2021. Le sue passioni sono l'arte antica e l'archeologia. Dal 2024 lavora in Finestre sull'Arte.


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