Vatican Museums' opens new exhibition, "The Mantegna of Pompeii - A rediscovered Masterpiece"

A painting by Mantegna, expression of faith and art

The following were among the first visitors to the Vatican Museums' new exhibition entitled, “The Mantegna of Pompei”, which opened to the public on Thursday, 20 March: Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, accompanied by Secretaries General, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop Prelate of Pompeii and Pontifical Delegate of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, Angelo Scelzo, former Deputy Director of the Press office of the Holy See and Director of Il Rosario e la Nuova Pompei, Ms. Barbara Jatta, Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage, and Ms. Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum.

The exhibition, which is the fruit of a collaboration between the Vatican Museums and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, depicts The Deposition of Christ. Following a long and delicate restoration process, the work was confirmed to have been executed by the renaissance master, Andrea Mantegna.

The painting, on display in Room XVII of the Vatican Pinacoteca, was brought to the Vatican Museums from the Shrine of Pompeii. Its existence was known as early as the 16th century when it was housed in the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, after which it had disappeared from historical sources, shedding doubt on its true existence and author.

“In his painting of Our Lady of the Rosary, Mantegna seems to have responded to a kind of vocation for the place", said Archbishop Caputo, adding that it "speaks to faith and culture, marking a new chapter in the history of Pompeii”.

Ms. Jatta explained that Monsignor Caputo had asked her to view the painting in 2022 and that it had soon became obvious that "an extraordinary painting lay below the layers of paint". The restoration revealed iconographic and technical details that confirm it was the work of Mantegna, thus restoring to art history, a masterpiece that was believed to be lost. The Vatican Museums’ "wheels" then set to work "with diagnostic investigations, research and the restoration”.

The restoration was led by Francesca Persegati and carried out by Lorenza D’Alessandro and Giorgio Capriotti, in close cooperation with the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, the Department of XV-XVI Century Art, the Painting and Wood Materials Restoration Laboratory and the Cabinet of Scientific Research.

The art- historical research led by Stefano De Mieri of the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples was able to identify the Deposition of Christ as part of the tradition of Mantegna.

The Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii also contributed to the project, in particular,  Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel and Luigi Gallo, Director of the National Gallery of the Marche in Urbino and of the Regional Directorate of Museums in the Marche.

At the end of the exhibition, the Deposition of Christ will be returned to the Shrine of Pompeii and exhibited in the Pinacoteca of the Central Museum, which is currently being reinstalled. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue by Ms. Barbara Jatta and Fabrizio Biferali.