Raphael's Ansidei altarpiece in the National Gallery

Part of a special section on Raphael on the occasion of “Raphael: From Urbino to Rome,” an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, through January 16, 2005. New discoveries have been made concerning Raphael's Ansidei altarpiece in the National Gallery. The altarpiece's passage from S. Fiorenzo in Perugia, Italy, where it had stayed for over 250 years, to the National Gallery was remarkably direct, avoiding the vicissitudes of the art market and any urgent need for campaigns of restoration and historical research. The only serious attempt to elucidate its early history remains Lino Manzoni's 1899 article, in which several unfortunate mistakes were made regarding the identity of Raphael's patron, the location of the altarpiece in the church, and the original construction of the predella, all of which were subsequently perpetuated in the scholarly literature. Preparations for the exhibition provided the impetus to study the altarpiece afresh, and several new discoveries have been made regarding the production, original setting, and patronage of the main panel and its predella. The writer discusses these discoveries in detail.