The exhibition is dedicated to the most recent acquisitions: five works that became part of the collections of the National Museum of Abruzzo, purchased by the Museum between late 2022 and 2023.
This selection encompasses various types of works, ranging from the Middle Ages to the late 19th century, temporarily displayed together before being integrated into the permanent exhibition.
The acquisitions were dictated by the need to fill some gaps: the works were chosen not only for their significance to Abruzzo art but also for their specific value within the Museum’s collections.
The stone relief depicting the Madonna Enthroned with Child (known as the “Madonna delle Carceri”), dating back to the 13th century, represents a significant piece in the panorama of medieval stone art in Abruzzo. The Holy Family Meets the Family of the Baptist known as Sacra Parentela, a wonderful example of 16th-century painting, is a large wooden altarpiece painted by Nicola Filotesio, known as Cola dell’Amatrice (Amatrice c. 1470 – before 1553), with an unusual iconography.
Peculiar in composition and execution technique are the Madonna del Carmine with Saints Charles Borromeo, Francis of Assisi, Mark the Evangelist, Anthony of Padua and Catherine of Alexandria, a drawing from the third decade of the 17th century, executed by the eclectic painter Giulio Cesare Bedeschini (L’Aquila, 1582 – 1627) from L’Aquila, and the work from the late 19th century from Abruzzo, The Cobbler, by Teofilo Patini (Castel di Sangro 1840 – Naples 1906), which, together with The Redemption purchased in 2022 and already visible in the exhibition itinerary, offers the visitor the opportunity to compare two decisive moments in the painter’s artistic production.
On October 14th, the exhibition will conclude with a masterpiece: the large panel by the Master of the Beffi Triptych, the Dormitio Virginis, a high point of late-14th-century Abruzzo art. Having undergone conservative restoration for several months, the panel will be on display in the room as part of an “open construction site” dedicated to the final restoration work.
The exhibition showcases the Museum’s research over the past year, during which in-depth studies, combined with targeted acquisition strategies, have led to an expansion of the Collections with particularly significant works of local artistic production.
