The work had not been exhibited in public since 1961 when it was exhibited in the Mantuan exhibition dedicated to Andrea Mantegna with the hypothetical attribution to Francesco Bonsignori, a Veronese painter of strict Mantegna observance; the attribution to Bonsignori would later be undermined by that, prevalent in more recent studies, to Girolamo Mocetto.
The conservation intervention, conducted by Claudia Vittori and directed by Roberta Battaglia as an official of the then Special Superintendency for the historical, artistic and ethno-anthropological heritage and for the museum complex of the city of Venice and the municipalities of the Gronda Lagunare, made possible the understanding of the original structure of the altarpiece, and its partial restitution: born as a large single-surface altarpiece for ecclesiastical use, depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned between Saint John the Baptist, holy bishop, Saint Lucia, Saint John the Evangelist and donor , the table was heavily transformed during the eighteenth century probably as a result of serious damage due to unspecified causes: sectioned into three panels, reassembled in the form of a triptych, it was covered with a thick dark repainting intended to conceal the resulting figurative parts fragmentary.
The intervention also offered the premises for a new stylistic reading of the work which is now reattributed, on the basis of a punctual formal reading of the linguistic components, to the Treviso painter Pier Maria Pennacchi.
It was felt that the importance of the recovery achieved by the restoration and the interest of the attribution proposal deserved the presentation of the work within the permanent collection of the Gallerie dell'Accademia. It was decided to exhibit next to the painting from a private collection a work signed by Pennacchi, the Madonna with child between saints John the Baptist and Andrew kindly loaned by the Civic Museums of Treviso, which, although belonging to a more advanced stage of his production, offers timely feedback to support this attribution proposal.
The exhibition is accompanied by educational materials relating to the restoration work and by a volume by Roberta Battaglia in which, in addition to giving an account of the technical aspects associated with this work, the collecting history of the painting is reconstructed, the complex issue of its original ecclesiastical destination, the attribution proposal is argued by supporting it with the re-examination of the small nucleus of works signed by Pier Maria Pennacchi, in an attempt to define a coherent and unitary artistic path.
The entire project, including the restoration, study and enhancement of the ancient work, certainly constitutes an exemplary case of protection combined with enhancement, highly integrated activities that cannot be carried out separately.
Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia
12 November 2016 - 13 January 2017
