Bernini and the painting of the 1600s, masterpieces from the Koelliker Collection on display in Ariccia


From Dec. 7, 2024 to May 18, 2025, Palazzo Chigi will host the exhibition curated by Francesco Petrucci, featuring paintings attributed to Bernini and masterpieces of the Roman Baroque, including works by Lanfranco, Pietro da Cortona, and Mattia Preti.

At Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, from December 7, 2024 to May 18, 2025 it will be possible to visit the exhibition Bernini and the Painting of the 1600s. Paintings from the Koelliker Collection, curated by Francesco Petrucci, Curator of Palazzo Chigi and one of the leading experts on the Roman Baroque. On display are numerous paintings attributed to Giovan Lorenzo Bernini (Naples, 1598 - Rome, 1680), including portraits and figure studies, which are part of the Koelliker Collection, one of the most important private collections of Italian art in the world. From sculpture, which constitutes the sector for which he is best known, to architecture, from decorative arts to ephemeral apparatuses, including painting, Bernini managed to leave a trace of himself in all expressions of the figurative arts of the time, both in the European sphere and especially for the Roman school of which he was an absolute protagonist.

The exhibition therefore aims to pay homage to Bernini’s many paintings, including some rare autographs, such as theSelf-Portrait while Drawing, the Portrait of the Poet Virginio Cesarini, a splendid Lying Levantine, probably a porter of the Port of Civitavecchia, and a Christ at the Column of Titian characteristics. Also on display will be a wide selection of Roman Baroque works, with numerous masterpieces by Italian and foreign artists who worked in Rome in the 17th century. The rooms of the Palazzo Chigi will house works such as Samson Tearing Apart the Lion by Giovanni Lanfranco, the Baptism of Christ by Pietro da Cortona, a Venus with a Golden Apple by Andrea Sacchi from the Chigi collection, and a monumental Heraclitus and Democritus by Giovanni Domenico Cerrini, never before exhibited to the public, from the Medici collections. Two scenes of banquets degenerating into tragedy are impressive: Niccolò Tornioli ’s Convito di Assalonne and the little-known Alessandro Magno uccide Clito by Mattia Preti. There are numerous portraits, by specialists such as Guglielmo Cortese known as “il Borgognone,” Giovan Battista Gaulli known as “il Baciccio,” Pierre Mignard, and Jacob Ferdinand Voet. Maratta ’s Portrait of Cardinal Alderano Cybo and Giuseppe Passeri’s Portrait of Urbano Barberinistand out. Finally, among the artists featured are Pier Francesco Mola, Bernardino Mei, “Monsù Bernardo,” Daniel Seiter, Giovan Battista Beinaschi and Girolamo Troppa.



Tickets: full price € 10.00, reduced € 7.00. Schoolchildren of all grades reduced € 5.00. Hours: from Dec. 7 to March 29: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. March 30 to May 18: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Information: info@palazzochigiariccia.it, www.palazzochigiariccia.it, tel. 06.9330053

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Self-Portrait While Drawing (1623-1625; oil on canvas, 47 x 38.7 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK0584)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Self-portrait while drawing (1623-1625; oil on canvas, 47 x 38.7 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK0584)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Reclining Levantine (1648-1650; oil on canvas, 50.7 x 76.1 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK1511)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Reclining Levantine (1648-1650; oil on canvas, 50.7 x 76.1 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK1511)
Andrea Sacchi, Venus (oil on canvas, 73.5 x 92.5 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK1400)
Andrea Sacchi, Venus (oil on canvas, 73.5 x 92.5 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK1400)
Bernhard Keilhau, known as
Bernhard Keilhau, known as “Monsù Bernardo,” Hercules with the skin of the Nemean lion (oil on canvas, 97.5 x 73.5 cm; Milan, Koelliker Collection, inv. LK1208)

Bernini and the painting of the 1600s, masterpieces from the Koelliker Collection on display in Ariccia
Bernini and the painting of the 1600s, masterpieces from the Koelliker Collection on display in Ariccia


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