The Prado Museum has been converted into a church and displays the last frescoes by Karachi

The walls meadow They were converted into the disappeared church of Santiago de los Espanyols de Rome to welcome Collection of frescoes by Annibale Karachi Create for the holy place. The exhibition brings together for the first time since 1833 the frescoes scattered among the various museums.

Anibal Karachi. Frescoes of the Herrera Chapel land in the Prado Museum From March 8 In an ambitious joint project between Prado, MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) and the Galleria Nazionali di Arte Antica Palazzo Barberini in Rome, which has been in the pipeline for several decades.

Reunion after two centuries

The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to discover the works of Carracci (Bologna, 1560 – Rome 1609), “Great artist”, “forgotten by the common people” is largelyAccording to Andres Ubeda, deputy director of the Prado Museum and curator of the exhibition.

exhibition conductive thread great story. The frescoes of Carracci were commissioned by banker Valentino Juan Enriquez de Herrera for the church of Santiago de los Espanol – located in Piazza Navona – in dedication to San Diego de Alcala, to whom he prayed for the healing of his sick son. Carracci devised them and began working, but illness and then his death caused the project to be terminated by one of his students, Francesco Albani.

In 1833 The poor condition of the holy place He made them decide to uproot the frescoes and send them to Spain. Seven of them are in the Prado, nine are in the MNAC and three others – along with the plaque on the altar – were taken to the Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Montserrat, where no matter how hard you search for them, Labeda does not appear. “These frescoes have kept me awake at night for a long time,” said Obida Today, who personally went looking for the missing pieces in the Roman church.

The project has seen decades of research and the gallery has been subject to many delays, most recently due to the pandemic. The Madrid Museum restored the frescoes in 2012 – a three-year process – with the idea of ​​displaying them, as they had not been on display since the 1970s. Instead, MNAC pieces are in their permanent collection.

The exhibition, which can be seen until June 12, will then travel to Barcelona and Rome. “Seeing them together is impressive.said MNAC Director, Josep Serra, who announced a future collaboration between the two institutions.

Prado, chapel

The frescoes, which were transferred to the pavilions, show images of the life of the saint, his miracles, the Virgin, and other religious scenes. The museum accompanies its exhibition with a series of preparatory drawingswhich will be changed at different locations.

The museum attempted to evoke the way worshipers encountered images of Karachi. Tour starts with Pictures outside the church – Including a painting by Gaspar van Whittel – and continues with access arch photographs.

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In the next room, the first frescoes seen upon entering the chapel are displayed, at eye level, to complement the intermediate panels, which are arranged in a dome-shaped form, to end with the central lantern.

The works reveal the “exquisite quality” of Karachi’s final years, despite the fact that it is designed so that it can be seen from several meters away. “He gave his best talent in these works,” says Ubeda, who sees this exhibition as an excellent opportunity to discover the works of the Italian Baroque master.