Luca Signorelli exhibition in Rome explores the Renaissance artist's dual identity and overlooked legacy

A major exhibition at the Musei Capitolini Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome, titled 'Luca Signorelli e Roma. Oblio e riscoperte', reexamines the Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli (c. 1450–1523), whose fame was overshadowed by later masters. The show opens with a dual portrait: one by Pietro Pierantoni based on Vasari's biography, another by sculptor Tenerani based on Signorelli's self-portrait in the Cappella di San Brizio in Orvieto, highlighting Vasari's error. Signorelli's work blends Christian and pagan themes, reflecting Neoplatonic culture and the Renovatio Urbis under Pope Sixtus IV, who summoned him to decorate the Sistine Chapel. His paintings feature Roman ruins, classical sculptures like the Spinario, and Christian churches. Key works include the recently restored 'Martirio di San Sebastiano', 'Battesimo di Arcevia', and the 'Tondo di Monaco'. The exhibition also presents backlit panels of the Orvieto frescoes, including the 'Giudizio Universale'. Signorelli's dynamic, muscular figures, often nude ('ignudi'), influenced Michelangelo. However, his fame was eclipsed by Raphael, who took over the papal apartment frescoes after Bramante's intervention. In the 20th century, Roberto Longhi controversially dismissed the Orvieto self-portrait as a 19th-century forgery. Despite this, artists like Degas and Cézanne admired his male nudes. The exhibition includes Corrado Cagli's 'Neofiti' to show Signorelli's enduring influence.