“Unveiling” of the restored painting, “Malaria”, at Castel Gandolfo on 27 September
A masterpiece restored thanks to the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums
Maria Martinetti Stiavelli (1864-1937), a painter from Rome, was only 23 years old when she painted Malaria (1887), a large painting on canvas, measuring 140.5 x 221.5 centimetres. The impressive painting, which had been held in storage at the Vatican Museums, underwent restoration works thanks to the precious contribution of the Canadian Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.
The restored masterpiece will be “unveiled” at the Pontifical Palace of Castel Gandolfo on Friday, 27 September 2024, at 11:30 a.m. In addition to Barbara Jatta, Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage and Andrea Tamburelli, Director of the Pontifical Villas, who promoted the initiative, Micol Forti, Curator of the Department of XIX Century and Contemporary Art, and Rossana Gardina, restorer of Vatican Museums, will also participate in the unveiling ceremony.
The presentation will inaugurate the new exhibition season at the Museum of Castel Gandolfo. The Vatican Museums have announced that the painting will be on display until 17 November, with free access included in the entrance ticket to the Vatican Museums, and can be visited along with the Garden of the Moor and the Secret Garden.
The theme chosen by Martinetti Stiavelli was widespread among painting circles of the time. The painting depicts a woman in the peasant clothing of Ciociaria and a boy, lying on a mattress covered with a threadbare blanket, in poor, almost miserable, surroundings. The painter wanted to draw attention to and show the effects of malaria, which at that time was afflicting rural people in the Agro Pontino (Pontine Marshes).
The painting is also well-known because the painter entered it at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889, where it was awarded a silver medal. She also presented her work at Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, along with a watercolour, entitled Beggar.
The exhibition includes a video and educational panels that retrace the life of the artist and provide details on the scientific studies carried out by the Cabinet of Scientific Research Applied to Cultural Heritage, as well as the results of the restoration work conducted by Rossana Giardina, under the direction of Francesca Persegati, Director of the Painting and Wood Materials Restoration Laboratory. Also included in the exhibition, will be two peasant dresses from Ciociaria dating back to the 19th century, borrowed from the Collection of Art and Popular Tradition of the Museum of Civilization in Eur, Rome.