Vatican Museums

On the occasion of the Easter celebrations, the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Directorate of the Pontifical Villas, presents the exhibition “Bellini and Sodoma. Passion of Christ”, to be inaugurated this coming 5 April at the Castel Gandolfo Museum Complex.
For six months, the museum spaces located on the lower floor of the Palace will host two extraordinary works: the Lamentation over the dead Christ by Giovanni Bellini (c. 1440- 1516) and the Dead Christ of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as il Sodoma (1477-1549). Curated by Fabrizio Biferali, Head of the Department of the XV-XVI Century Art, the exhibition explores the theme of the Passion of Christ, heart of the Christian tradition and symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus for the redemption of humanity.

Bellini’s Lamentation over the dead Christ, oil on panel, created in 1475 for the church of Saint Francis in Pesaro, depicts the moment in which Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus prepare the body of Christ for burial, an episode narrated in the Gospel of John (XIX, 38-40). The work is distinguished by the intense expression of pain, evident in the interwoven hands of Christ and Mary Magdalene. Confiscated by French troops in 1797 and exhibited at the Muséum Central des Arts in the Palace of the Louvre, the panel was retorned to Italy in 1816 and finally positioned in the Vatican Pinacoteca. Initially attributed to Mantegna, only in 1871 was it recognized as the work of Bellini, as the cymatium of the famous Pesaro Altarpiece.
Recently restored by Marco Pratelli, master restorer of the Paintings and Wood Materials Restoration Laboratory, the work has regained its original chromatic splendour, thanks to the series of painstaking diagnostic investigations conducted by the Cabinet of Scientific Research and the generosity of the Illinois Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.

Sodoma’s Dead Christ, dating from around 1505, depicts the body of Jesus supported by four angels. This painting, belonging to the Archconfraternity of Santa Maria dell'Orto in Rome, reflects the influence of the artist's youthful experiences and his extraordinary painting skills. The figure of Christ is inspired by the bronze plaque by the Veronese Galeazzo Mondella, known as ‘il Moderno’. Restored in the Vatican Museums between 1933 and 1934, the painting is set in an eighteenth-century frame decorated with the symbol of the cypress tree, linked to Our Lady of the Garden and the Archconfraternity.

Access to all the current exhibitions is included in the entrance ticket to the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo (which may be visited, with a guide or independently, together with the Garden of the Moor and the Secret Garden).