''Decemviri Altarpiece'' (Italian: ''Pala dei Decemviri'') is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist
Pietro Perugino, executed in 1495–1496, and housed in the
Pinacoteca Vaticana
The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
in
Vatican City.
The work was commissioned by the Decemviri ("Ten Men") of
Perugia for the chapel in the
Palazzo dei Priori, and was executed 1495 to 1496. It was originally surmounted by a ''Pietà'' (87 x 90 cm), now at the
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria.
Description
The work portrays the Virgin on a high throne, with decorations and reliefs. Behind her is a bright landscape with hills. She holds the child in a position identical to that in the ''
Fano Altarpiece
The ''Fano Altarpiece'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino, executed in 1497, and housed in the church of Santa Maria Nuova, Fano, central Italy. It also includes a lunette with a ''Pietà'' and several predella panels ...
''. At her sides are Saint Lawrence, Louis of Toulouse,
Herculanus and
Constantius of Perugia.
The portico theme was typical of Perugino's late 15th century works, such as the ''
Albani Torlonia Polyptych
The ''Albani Torlonia Altarpiece'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino, executed in 1491 and housed in the Torlonia Collection, Rome. It was commissioned by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future pope Julius II.
D ...
'' and the ''
Pietà''.
Sources
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{{Pietro Perugino
Paintings by Pietro Perugino
1490s paintings
Paintings in the collection of the Vatican Museums
Paintings of the Madonna and Child
Books in art
Altarpieces
category:Paintings of Saint Lawrence
Paintings of Louis of Toulouse
category:Paintings of saints