National Gallery London Announces 2017 Italian Art Exhibitions

The National Gallery in London has announced that three of its eight 2017 exhibitions will focus on Italian art. The series begins on February 15 with 'The Conversion of the Magdalene' by Guido Cagnacci, a Baroque masterpiece on loan from the Norton Simon Museum in California, not exhibited in the UK for over thirty years. Cagnacci, a pupil of Guido Reni, is absent from British public collections, making this a rare opportunity to see his naturalism and sensuality. From March 15 to June 25, 'Michelangelo – Sebastiano. A Meeting of Ideas' explores the collaboration between Michelangelo and Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1485-1547), highlighting loans such as the 'Pietà' from San Francesco in Viterbo (1512-16) and the 'Resurrection of Lazarus' (1517-19) from the National Gallery's collection. The exhibition examines their treatments of Christ's death and resurrection. Finally, from June 14 to October 8, 'Giovanni da Rimini. A Masterpiece of the Early 14th Century' showcases 'Scenes from the Life of the Virgin and Other Saints,' acquired in 2015 with support from American collector Ronald S. Lauder, exhibited for the first time alongside a panel from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome, reuniting a long-separated diptych.