PERUGINO AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF UMBRIA PROTAGONISTS IN NEW YORK

The cimasa of the Pala dei Decemviri from the National Gallery of Umbria will be on display from 5 February to 30 April 2026 at the Morgan Library & Museum, in dialogue with Giovanni Bellini’s Pietà.
From 30 January to 4 February, the masterpiece by the Umbrian master will enjoy a special American preview at Sotheby’s New York headquarters in the Breuer Building, formerly home to the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Perugino will serve as the spokesperson for Italian art and the National Museums of Umbria in New York.
In the year marking the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi—celebrated with a major event scheduled from 14 March to 14 June 2026 at the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia—Umbrian painting, through one of its most illustrious exponents, will be revealed on one of the most important stages of the American metropolis.

From 5 February to 30 April 2026, in fact, the Imago Pietatis (the cimasa of the Pala dei Decemviri), preserved at the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia, will be one of the two focal points around which the exhibition hosted by the Morgan Library & Museum will revolve.
The exhibition, supported by Brunello Cucinelli as main sponsor, will see Perugino’s work in dialogue with Giovanni Bellini’s Pietà, on loan from the Museo della Città di Rimini, as well as with other prestigious works from the Morgan Library & Museum’s Renaissance art collection, including paintings by Hans Memling and sculptures by Antonio Rossellino.

Before reaching the library on Madison Avenue, the masterpiece by the Umbrian master will be presented in a special preview from 30 January to 4 February at Sotheby’s New York headquarters in the Breuer Building, formerly the Whitney Museum of American Art.

The initiative aims to write a new chapter in the programmatic vision conceived by the Director of the National Gallery of Umbria, Costantino D’Orazio: to communicate the richness of the Perugian museum’s heritage far beyond national and continental borders, reaching an ever-wider audience, from America to Asia.

Following this event, other works of fundamental importance in Italian art will travel to the United States. At the exhibition Raphael: Sublime Poetry, scheduled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 29 March to 28 June, Perugino’s Madonna della Consolazione and Pinturicchio’s processional banner Saint Augustine and Other Figures will be displayed, while Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s Flagellation of Christ will be presented within the exhibition dedicated to the fifteenth-century painter, sculptor, and architect, to be held in October at the Frick Collection in New York.

Perugino’s Gonfalon of Justice has also been chosen to represent the spirit of a nation in the spaces of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

The initiative that will bring one of the jewels of Umbrian heritage to New York marks the partnership with Friends of Umbria—founded in collaboration with Dr. Mitchell Levine, an association of American citizens who love Umbria, its history, and its beauty—and seals the agreement with the Myriad Foundation, an institution dedicated worldwide to fundraising for the conservation and protection of artistic and cultural heritage.

“This path,” emphasizes Costantino D’Orazio, Director of the National Gallery of Umbria, “aims to project the state museums of Umbria beyond national borders, expanding the audience from countries that have long been sensitive to history, art, and the charm of our culture and heritage. In this way, following the example of major international museums that have long embarked on this journey, our cultural institutions will also be able to benefit from extraordinary funding and act as a driving force for the attractiveness of the entire region.”

“There is a meaningful moment,” says Carolina Cucinelli, Vice President of Brunello Cucinelli, “when a masterpiece leaves its home to tell its story to a new audience: it is as if the memory of a territory becomes a bridge. For us, supporting Perugino in New York is an honor and an act of gratitude toward Umbria, which has safeguarded beauty and spirituality for centuries. The work speaks a universal language, and we are happy that, thanks to this initiative, it can reach New York and engage in dialogue with the great masters of the Renaissance in one of the most prestigious cultural venues in the world.”

The Imago Pietatis (cimasa of the Pala dei Decemviri), painted by Pietro Perugino in 1495, once crowned the Pala dei Decemviri (1495–1496), created for the Chapel of the Priors in Perugia, now housed in the Vatican Museums.
The two parts remained together in the place for which they were conceived until 1797, when Napoleonic troops, as a consequence of the Treaty of Tolentino, seized the altarpiece to take it to Paris, but overlooked the cimasa, leaving it in the Chapel of the Priors.

For those who wish to support the National Museums of Umbria and contribute to the conservation and promotion of Italian cultural heritage, further information is available at the following link