The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: National Gallery of Umbria) the Italian national paintings collection of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, housed in the

Palazzo dei Priori The Palazzo dei Priori or comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of a public palace from the communal era (11th century). It is located in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It extends along Corso Vannucci up to Via Boncam ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, in central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Located on the upper floors of the Palazzo dei Priori, the exhibition spaces occupy two floors and the collection comprises the greatest representation of the Umbrian School of painting, ranging from the 13th to the 19th century, strongest in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries. The collection is presented in 40 exhibition rooms in the Palazzo. On the second floor of the Gallery, there is an exhibition space for temporary collections, changed several times a year.

History

The collection's origins lie in the foundation of the Perugian Accademia del Disegno in the mid-16th century. The Academy was originally based in the Convento degli Olivetani at Montemorcino, where it began to assemble a collection of paintings and drawings. The town became part of the French department of

Trasimène Trasimène was a department of the First French Empire from 1809-1814 in present-day Italy. It was named after Lake Trasimeno. It was formed on 15 July 1809, when the Papal States were annexed by France. Its capital was Spoleto. The department ...

in 1798 and its religious houses were suppressed. This suppression was repeated by the united

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

from the 1860s onwards - both suppressions shifted a large number of paintings and artworks from church to state ownership. In 1863, the civic paintings collection was formally named after

Pietro Vannucci Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, but the problem of establishing an appropriate site to house the collection was not solved until 1878, when it moved into the third floor of the Palazzo dei Priori in the town centre. With the addition of acquisitions, donations and bequests, the ''pinacoteca'' became the Regia Galleria Vannucci in 1918, under the patronage of the king. The name was later changed to Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. Over the years the entire complex of Palazzo dei Priori has been repeatedly affected by renovations and functional adaptation. The museum path, inaugurated in its current form in 2006, occupies an area of 4000 square meters on two floors.

Collections

Chronologically ordered, the permanent collection has Renaissance and Medieval paintings and sculptures from Italian artists such as Arnolfo di Cambio,

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; c. 1220/1225 – c. 1284) was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the ...

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient ...

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

Gentile da Fabriano Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his ''Adoration of the Magi ...

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

Giovanni Boccati Giovanni Boccati or Giovanni di Pier Matteo Boccati (c. 1420 – after 1480) was an Italian painter. Biography Boccati was born in Camerino, in the region of Marche. He lived and worked in Camerino, Padua, Perugia, and Urbino. His first document ...

and

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

. The particular attention of the collection is given to the Umbrian masters; Benedetto Bonfigli, Bartolomeo Caporali,

Fiorenzo di Lorenzo Fiorenzo di Lorenzo ( 1440 – 1522) was an Italian painter, of the Umbrian school. He lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works are still preserved in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. Fiorenzo is known from a few sig ...

, Perugino,

Pintoricchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his smal ...

and their students and followers. A brief overview of the museum in the official website lists: First Floor *Halls 1-4 13th and 14th-century paintings and sculptures, including Nicola and

, and Arnolfo di Cambio *Halls 5-7 15th-century Sienese and Florentine painting, including

Duccio di Boninsegna Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

*Halls 8-11 Renaissance masterworks:

Beato Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent". Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

*Halls 12-16 15th-century Marchigian and Umbrian paintings, including Benedetto Bonfigli *Hall 17 The "Treasure" - 13th to 15th century jewelry and ivory *Hall 18 ''Sala del Delegato'' - umbrian tapestry *Hall 19

Agostino di Duccio Agostino di Duccio (1418 – ) was an early Renaissance Italians, Italian sculptor. Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from ...

sculptural fragments *Hall 20 Arti minori (artisan work) *Hall 21 Cappella dei Priori Second Floor *Halls 22-26 Renaissance masterworks:

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, and

Francesco di Giorgio Martini Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

*Halls 27–30 First half of 16th-century Umbrian painting *Halls 31-33 Umbrian

Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

*Sala dell’Orologio *Halls 33-34 Martinelli Collection *Halls 35-37 1500-1600: Classicism and

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never establish ...

; Refectory of the Priors *Hall 38 18th century *Hall 39 19th-century topography of Perugia *Hall 40 Luigi Carattoli Collection

References

External links

Gallery website
{{authority control Art museums and galleries in Umbria National museums of Italy Art museums established in 1878 1878 establishments in Italy Museums in Perugia