The adventure of Piero’s polyptych will advance research

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March 19th was a day of great celebration at the Poldi-Pezzoli Museum in Milan, where the city took an extraordinary part in the opening of an undoubtedly historic exhibition: the reunion of the eight surviving compartments of the polyptych that Piero della Francesca painted for the church had been dismembered by the hermits of Sant’Agostino in Borgo San Sepolcro between 1454 and 1469, just a hundred years after its construction. A unique and unrepeatable “meeting” made possible thanks to collaboration, dialogue and relationships with European and international lending museums.

There have been attempts to reunite the polyptych in the past: in the Poldi-Pezzoli Museum itself in 1996, in the Frick Collection in 2013 and in the Hermitage in 2018. However, not all of the necessary loans were received It is entirely possible to advance this study, but always offer the public a “virtual” reconstruction of the work.

The idea for the Milan exhibition arose last spring in New York: The Frick Collection, which owns four of the eight panels, was temporarily closed from March to October for renovation work and, at my request, generously agreed to lend them. And thanks to Xavier Salomon, deputy director of the museum, it was possible to begin this exciting adventure. On May 31, 2023, the Frick Collection confirmed the loan of Piero’s four panels that had never left the museum, and this decision triggered the rush to involve the other museums that own the other preserved pieces: all joined the project !

An extraordinary team effort, coordinated by the two curators Machtelt Brüggen Israëls, professor at the University of Amsterdam, and Nathaniel Silver, deputy director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston, Pierfrancesca scientists of international standing, who were initially incredulous given the difficulty of the operation With great They enthusiastically accepted the task and accompanied us to this point.

The meeting of the eight panels of the polyptych is a unique and unrepeatable event, especially for the purposes of scientific research, since it has given rise to a series of in-depth studies that, thanks to diagnostic studies, have provided answers to the questions and solved some mysteries that this fascinating and grandiose altarpiece for centuries. It was actually possible to examine some important aspects of the history of the polyptych, Piero’s painting technique, the materials used, the wood carpentry and the scene on the central panel, which unfortunately was never found. Thanks in particular to the Bracco Foundation (main partner of the exhibition) and the Bicocca University, state-of-the-art diagnostic examinations were carried out Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Conducted by Poldi Pezzoli: a wonderful work experience on site which involved university researchers, the museum team and the two curators of the exhibition.