Next September 21, an appointment on “Museums Thursday” will be dedicated to the complex restoration of the wall decorations created between 1492 and 1494 by the Peruvian master Bernardino di Betto in the Borgia Apartment
News from the Vatican
A few months after the completion of the restoration work on the Hall of Liberal Arts in the Borgia Apartment, on Thursday September 21, the Vatican Museums will dedicate an episode of “Thursday of the Museums” to the complex restoration of the wall decorations created between 1492 and 1494 by the Peruvian master Bernardino di Betto said Pinturicchio. The room, probably designed by Pope Alexander VI. Borgia (1492-1503), which was used as a study, is called the “liberal arts room” in reference to the “arts” or disciplines that formed the basis of medieval schooling. They represent the appreciation of knowledge in its various specializations and are allegorically depicted as beautiful women sitting on thrones. Among these, the rhetoric stands out, which bears the inscription “Pentorichio”, the only signature of the artist present in the entire pictorial cycle.
Supported by the generosity of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums (Chapter of Canada), the restoration of the hall is part of the broader conservation project of the paintings of the Borgia Apartment, begun in 2002 with the Hall of Mysteries and carried out in its entirety by the Laboratory for Paintings and wooden materials under the direction of the director Francesca Persegati and the site manager Marco Pratelli. The work was carried out under the scientific supervision of the Department of 15th and 16th Century Art, previously directed by the late Guido Cornini and now directed by the curator Fabrizio Biferali.
During the conference, not only will we trace the historical events that led to the various changes in use of the spaces, with obvious implications for the state of conservation of the entire apartment, but we will focus above all on the uniqueness of the technique used Pinturicchio in the numerous rich decorations. The conference will be opened at 4 p.m. by the director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, who will then give the floor to the various protagonists of the project: Fabrizio Biferali, curator of the Department of 15th and 16th Century Art; Marco Pratelli, master restorer; Ulderico Santamaria, Head of the Cabinet for Scientific Research in the Field of Cultural Heritage; Fabio Morresi, diagnostic assistant in the same cabinet; Francesca Persegati, head of the laboratory for the restoration of paintings and wood materials.