A panel exhibition dedicated to the Renaissance painter ‘Il Perugino’ was opened at Palais Sternberg, home of the Italian Cultural Institute in Vienna, to mark the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death.
By means of 15 panels, the exhibition concisely narrates the life of Pietro Vannucci, largely known as ‘Il Perugino’, illustrating the geographical surroundings and the artistic phases that shaped his oeuvre. Considered to be one of the most famous and influential painters of his time, he was mainly active in Perugia, Florence and Rome. Most of his works are located in Umbria, Tuscany and the Marches. He died of the plague in 1523 in Fontignano, near Perugia.
The exhibition was designed and curated by Amb. Stefano Baldi, the current Permanent Representative to the OSCE in Vienna, who was born – just like Perugino – in Città della Pieve.
The project consisting of an exhibition on ‘Perugino’ chiefly intended for a non-specialist target group was conceived in order to give greater visibility and foster greater awareness of this painter abroad.
The exhibition will be displayed and adapted in various countries around the world by other Embassies, Consulates and Cultural Institutes. So far, it has already been shown in Armenia, Ireland, South Africa, Luxembourg, and North Macedonia. In the coming months, it is also scheduled to be presented in several other countries, including Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Canada, Greece, Lithuania, Turkey, Indonesia, Chile, DR Congo, Switzerland, Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova and Paraguay, where it will be on show in universities or other public spaces related to Italian art and language.
The panels were initially written in Italian and English only, but have now been translated into French, Spanish, German, Swahili, Albanian, Macedonian and Greek; the Turkish and Lithuanian versions are currently in the making. Further information (in English) on the content of the exhibition and on the previous as well as next shows around the globe can be found at https://perugino500.wordpress.com/.
The exhibition in Vienna, which was inaugurated on the occasion of the Italian Republic Day celebrations on 2 June, will remain open to the public at Palais Sternberg until 30 June.
