A new stage in the collaboration between lntesa Sanpaolo, the most important Italian bank, and the famous British gallery with an exhibition on 14th-century Siena that includes a masterpiece such as The Martyrdom of Saint Orsola. Director Michele Coppola: ‘The exceptional participation of the public makes us proud to have contributed to the celebrations of one of the most prestigious museums in the world’
by Robert Crowe
Almost three hundred thousand people, more than three thousand a day, visited the exhibition ‘The Last Caravaggio’ at the National Gallery in London, focusing on the Martyrdom of St. Orsola, the main work in Intesa Sanpaolo’s collection, usually on display at the Bank’s Gallerie d’Italia in Naples. The exhibition, the third most-visited in the last ten years for the British museum, ended on Sunday 21 July and was the basis of the collaboration between Intesa Sanpaolo and the National Gallery, one of the world’s best-known museum institutions, as part of London’s celebrations for its 200th anniversary.
The work, the last painted by the painter from Lombardy in 1610 during his second stay in Naples, a few weeks before his death, has returned to the Intesa Sanpaolo museum in Naples, becoming one of the city’s main attractions.
The collaboration between the British museum and the Bank continues with Intesa Sanpaolo’s support for the exhibition ‘Siena. The Rise of Painting. 1300 – 1350 ‘ which will open at the National Gallery from 8 March to 22 June 2025 after an autumn debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Featuring over one hundred paintings, sculptures, goldsmiths, and textiles, the exhibition will explore an extraordinary moment at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and the pivotal role played by Sienese artists such as Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini in defining Western painting.
“The exceptional public attendance at the exhibition of Caravaggio’s work at the National Gallery in London makes us proud to have contributed, with the most precious work from Intesa Sanpaolo’s collections, to the celebrations of one of the most prestigious museums in the world. We will continue to collaborate with the National Gallery by supporting the exhibition dedicated to Siena and 14th century painting as part of our activities to promote Italian art and culture abroad,’ says Michele Coppola, Executive Director Art, Culture and Historical Heritage Intesa Sanpaolo.
* Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi). Milan 1571 – Porto Ercole 1610. Martyrdom of St Ursula, 1610. Oil on canvas, 143 x 180 cm. Intesa Sanpaolo Collection. Galleries of Italy – Naples.
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