Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston October 31, 2019 - January 30, 2020
Nearly five centuries after his death,
Raphael’s fame remains undiminished. In 1898, Isabella Stewart Gardner
brought the first Raphael to America, a portrait of the pope’s librarian
Tommaso Inghirami. Celebrated by Erasmus as “the Cicero of our era,”
Inghirami was a high Renaissance celebrity esteemed for his profound
erudition, theatrical abilities, and powerful friends, including Raphael
himself.
Commemorating the 500th anniversary of the painter’s death in 1520,
this exhibition brings together for the first time
Raphael,
“Ex-voto of Tommaso Inghirami Fallen under an Ox-Cart in Rome,” about
1508, oil on panel, 64 x 88 cm (25 3/16 x 34 5/8 in.), Basilica di San
Giovanni in Laterano, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
a painting of an
episode from Inghirami’s life (Musei Vaticani, Vatican City) with the
Gardner’s own portrait, as well as a special selection of sculpture,
drawings and archival materials to tell the fascinating story of the man
with the red cap and the collector who brought him to America.
Raphael, “Tommaso Inghirami,” about 1510, oil on panel, 90 x 62.5 cm (35
7/16 x 24 5/8 in.), 114.1 x 86.7 cm (44 15/16 x 34 1/8 in.) framed,
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, P16e4
Exhibition Catalog
Published in commemoration of
the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death, this engrossing book
accompanies this exhibition. Read about this iconic painting, and
Raphael's work, which writer Henry James called "semi-sacred."
