The large altarpiece depicting the Trinity and Saints Andrew the Apostle, Mary Magdalene and Christina, painted by Durante Alberti between 1575 and 1576, will be presented on Tuesday 16 April in the co-cathedral basilica of Sansepolcro.
The work was donated to the co-cathedral by the current owners, Eleonora and Bruno Botticelli and Fabrizio Moretti, in memory of their parents Veria and Franco Botticelli and Alfredo Moretti.
The altarpiece (oil on canvas, 373 x 192.5 cm) best represents the painterly qualities of Durante Alberti, a native of Sansepolcro and member of a true dynasty of artists (his father was the carver Romano, known as Nero, his cousins the painters and engravers Alessandro, Cherubino and Giovanni). Durante Alberti (Sansepolcro c. 1538 - Rome 1613), who was active for a long time in Rome and Lazio, where he joined the ranks of the painters in charge of decorating altars during the Counter-Reformation period, executed works with a severe spiritual approach, due in particular to his frequentation of the Capuchin order, for which he worked on several occasions.
The large altarpiece, datable between 1575 and 1576 on the basis of documents recently found in the diocesan historical archives of Sansepolcro, was made for the chapel of the Artini, or Aretini, family, leaning against the left wall of the ancient Camaldolese abbey, which became the cathedral of the new diocese of Sansepolcro in 1520. The work, recorded in pastoral visits since 1582, was alienated from the cathedral in 1859, during a rearrangement of the church that involved the removal of no less than thirteen altars. It then became part of the collection of the Lilloni Alberti family, descendants of the bourgeois artist dynasty. Due to its large size, the canvas was divided into two fragments at the time, one with the Trinity and the other with St. Andrew, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Christine. The two fragments were bought at an auction in 2002 and properly restored and brought together by Bruno and Elonora Botticelli and Fabrizio Moretti.
"This donation - say Fabrizio Moretti and Bruno Botticelli - in addition to linking the memory of our parents to the return of an important work for the cathedral of Sansepolcro, is intended to be a significant gesture of our families' affection for the cultural heritage of our country, of détente and positivity for those difficult moments of misunderstanding between the public and private sectors. It is also a gesture that seals our friendship that began in the mid-1990s between the walls of the stands at the Assisi Antiques Fair and has continued to this day. We have chosen this particular moment in which we hold two important positions in our sector, respectively as Secretary General of Biennale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze and as President of Antiquari d'Italia”.
April 16, 2024