Artist symbol of the late Renaissance, but also an ante litteram champion of the protection of cultural heritage. And even a sort of Superintendent, the first in history to receive this post. It is the Raffaello Sanzio that emerges in the new art volume of the Menarini pharmaceutical group, created by Pacini Editore and presented in Florence in the deconsecrated church of Santo Stefano al Ponte. The monograph, edited by Cristina Acidini, extraordinary popularizer, president of the Academy of Drawing Arts, former superintendent of Florence, connects life and works, highlighting the evolution of Raphael’s human and artistic aspect.
In addition to narrating and analyzing (with the support of splendid photographs) the painting of the great artist, the volume also focuses on lesser-known biographical aspects: such as his commitment to the protection of ancient monuments, a concept that will be at the origin of the modern protection of fine arts. «At the time – explains Acidini – what was left of Ancient Rome was being stripped: bronzes were cast, temples were dismantled to reuse the pieces in an unscrupulous way. Raphael is the first authoritative voice to stand up against the insane scarring of the Roman ruins. He realizes the damage he is doing and denounces it publicly. In 1518, he wrote to Pope Leo X asking to stop the mess. The pope understands, accepts his complaints and appoints him “Prefect of antiquity”, a sort of superintendent, the first in history to receive this post ».
Acidini, a true authority in the field of art, restoration, curating exhibitions and museums, wrote the book on Raphael during the lock down, with the impossibility of accessing archives or documentation centers, but making use of his great knowledge of the artist, «of the great documentation at home, of the collaboration of friends or colleagues».
The author unveiled the peculiarities and wonders of Raphael’s wonderful works with a captivating narrative, without neglecting the environmental and political context of the time and a series of curiosities, anecdotes and news of personal history and of “colleagues” (Leonardo and Michelangelo ) with which the youngest artist was confronted. History of art, but also political and social history, with beautiful works commissioned by popes (such as Julius II and Leo X), or by rich and important Florentine families, proud to decorate bedrooms or studies with the great painters of the moment.
Bringing the public closer to Italian art is a challenge that Menarini has been pursuing with volumes of art since 1956, but also through the Menarini Pills of Art, video pills designed to raise awareness of curiosities related to the works of Renaissance artists: the latest , just published, tells the anecdotes of Raphael’s work “Guido Baldo da Montefeltro”.
“Florence, cradle of the Renaissance and seat of our parent company, has welcomed the greatest artists of all time, including Raphael – say Lucia and Alberto Giovanni Aleotti, shareholders and members of the Menarini Board – A little more than 500 years after his death, Menarini wanted to celebrate this great artist, in the wake of the tradition of the historic art series of our group, inaugurated more than half a century ago, which saw all the Renaissance painters who have made our country great as protagonists ».
The art historian and director of the Museum of Palazzo Madama in Turin, Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa explains: “With the annual publication of art monographs, Menarini had the ability, perseverance and intelligence to carry forward multiple messages: to make the masters known Italians, to safeguard the national artistic heritage and to appreciate its singular exceptionality ».