For five months, from 24th October 2019 to 8th March 2020, the Cloisters of Saint Peter in Reggio Emilia will host one of the Renaissance masterpieces: the “Portrait of a Young Woman” by Correggio.
The work, an exceptional loan from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, arrives in one of the lands of choice of the artist, five centuries after its execution. Thanks to an agreement signed by the city and the Palazzo Magnani Foundation with the Russian institution, it will be possible to admire the painting and learn about its history. An artistic work of enigmatic charm, it’s one of the many masterpieces of Italian genius that “emigrated” abroad. The Portrait of a Young Woman by Antonio Allegri called il Correggio (c.1489-1534) is certainly the most important artwork painted by the artist. Nothing is known about the commission and the subsequent collectible events of the painting: it’s assumed that it dates back to 1520, to the same period in which the artist frescoed the Camera della Badessa (or Camera di San Paolo) in Parma. His first modern appearance is in the collection of Prince Yusupov in the Russia of the early twentieth century.
Even the name of the lady is a mystery and there are many hypotheses about her identity. The young woman belongs for sure to high rank as shown by the details of her clothing. Furthermore, from the elegance of the clothes, the sobriety of the jewels and the decoration of the hairstyle we can assume that the woman lived in the context of the nobility of northern Italy. Beyond her identity, we’re looking at one of the most incisive artworks of the Correggio painter, probably recently returned to Emilia Romagna from the trip to Rome, where he studied the works of Michelangelo and Raphael.
The event (organized by Claudio Franzoni and Pierluca Nardoni together with the Ermitage Museum) promises to be something unique and prestigious for Reggio Emilia and for the people who won’t miss the view of one of the most famous Correggio works.
ITINERE for the occasion offers different tour solutions and overnight stays, in addition to culture, and food & wine tours to discover the area and its excellence. Here, what we offer:
From Russia to Correggio, passing through Reggio Emilia and Parma
Between Art and Made in Italy. The typical craft of Reggio Emilia
Between Art and Nature. The long history of the Ornament
