Presentation of the volume “The Church, the Angelica Library, the State Advocacy General. The Complex of Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio "on the occasion of the exhibition" Gregorio Guglielmi, Roman painter of the eighteenth century ". ROME - GENERAL ADVOCATURE OF THE STATE FORMER CONVENT OF SANT'AGOSTINO VIA DEI PORTOGHESI, 12 It was inaugurated in Rome, housed in the halls of the Former convent of Sant'Agostino, today the seat of the State Attorney General which opens for the occasion for the first time to the public, the exhibition "Gregorio Guglielmi, Roman painter of the eighteenth century". The first retrospective entirely dedicated to Gregorio Guglielmi, great protagonist of the Roman and European eighteenth century, was conceived and strongly desired by the Superintendent for the Historical, Artistic, Ethno-anthropological Heritage and for the Museum Complex of the city of Rome, Prof. Claudio Strinati and curated by art historian of the same Superintendency, Edith Gabrielli. The exhibition is organized by the Special Superintendency for Heritage, Historical, Artistic, Ethno-anthropological and for the Polo Museale of the city of Rome in concert with the State Attorney General. The exhibition traces the artistic and human story of a great master of the long forgotten past, through 20 masterpieces from museums and collections around the world. Gregorio Guglielmi was one of the most requested and appreciated artists of his period: he worked for churches such as that of Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome and of San Michele Arcangelo in Caprarola, for noble residences, such as Palazzo Corsini in via della Lungara, and for some of the the most important European courts of the eighteenth century, from that of Vienna, where he painted the frescoes in the palace of Schönbrunn, up to the Russia of Catherine II. . Among the works on display: the “Santa Caterina”, an imposing altarpiece measuring over 6 meters, from the church of Santa Caterina in Prague; the large fresco of the "Multiplication of the loaves and fishes", preserved in the Vanvitellian hall of the former convent of Sant'Agostino and the preparatory sketch for the fresco, property of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The works of Guglielmi are combined the works of great masters of the past, his contemporaries: Marco Benefial, Pierre Subleyras, Jean-François de Troy and Gaetano Lapis. Organized in the same place where Guglielmi worked and created his greatest masterpiece, the fresco of the "Multiplication of the loaves and fishes", the exhibition also represented an opportunity to bring to light unpublished paintings, such as the two frescoed tondi in the chapel of the convent, and, at the same time, to show, thanks to the restorations carried out, the works already known in their original splendor. It will also be possible to visit the former convent of Sant'Agostino which, for the first time, will be open to the public. During the entire period of the exhibition it will in fact be possible to participate in guided tours, which will be held twice a day at 15.00 and at 17.00. On the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition, a volume dedicated to the Ex convent of Sant 'Agostino “The Church, the Angelica Library, the State Advocacy General. The Complex of Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio ”, published by the State Printing and Mint Institute - State Library. The work tells the story of the Augustinian order, of the church and convent from construction to the present day, of the Angelica Library and of the State Attorney General through some important contributions. Among these we remember the essays of the state lawyer Giuseppe Fiengo, who also dealt with the editorial coordination of the volume, and that of the architect Francesco Scoppola, Regional Director for Cultural and Landscape Heritage of Umbria, author of a careful reflection on the architectural story of the complex. The architect Federica Galloni, Superintendent for Architectural and Landscape Heritage for the Municipality of Rome, analyzed the restorations carried out while Prof. Claudio Strinati and the curator of the exhibition Edith Gabrielli dedicated their essays to examining the masterpieces preserved in the complex. . Thanks to the research carried out during the preparation of the volume Claudio Strinati was able to recognize and attribute to the great Florentine sculptor Andrea Sansovino a relief depicting the Madonna and Child hidden inside the convent. BIOGRAPHY Gregorio Guglielmi was born in Rome in 1714. Trained in the workshop of Francesco Trevisani, he worked in Italy and in the major European courts of the eighteenth century. His artistic career began in the early thirties: his first major commission was for the Church of St. Catherine in Prague, for which the artist created two altarpieces (1739). In the 1940s the painter was still in Italy and worked for the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Caprarola, for which he created an altarpiece depicting the incredulity of St. Thomas, while in 1745 he began work on the frescoes of the large aisle of the new arm of the Santo Spirito Hospital in Sassia, commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV. The fame he achieved in those years led him to work at Palazzo Corsini alla Lungara and in the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Spaniards. For Palazzo Corsini Guglielmi performs the decorations for the library, flanked by other great protagonists of the period: Sebastiano Conca, Vincenzo Meucci and Etienne Parrocel. From 1748 he joined the Accademia di San Luca, a professional achievement of considerable importance for any artist of the time. The commission for the decoration of the Augustinian convent came in 1750, the year of the Jubilee, from the powerful General Agostino Gioia, who had promoted the renovation of the building, giving the task to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli. It is inside the refectory that Guglielmi creates his masterpiece, the fresco of the Multiplication of the loaves and fishes, in which he introduces important and significant innovations, such as the strong illusionistic and scenographic vein, which make the entire environment represented in the painting appear. like a "theater". In the following years Guglielmi worked in courts throughout Europe: Dresden, Vienna, Brussels, Berlin and St. Petersburg. But it was in Vienna that he painted the frescoes for Schönbrunn Palace, the pinnacle of the decorative conception of European Rococo. The Vienna Palace Commission represents the high point of his professional career. In 1762 he decides to return to Rome, from which he leaves the following year for Berlin, where he is given the task of decorating two ceilings of the imperial palace. In the following years he moved to Italy, worked in Bergamo and Turin, in Germany, in Poland and in Russia where he died mysteriously in 1773. FORMER CONVENT OF SANT'AGOSTINO The convent of Sant'Agostino, now the seat of the Advocacy General of the State, was built at the behest of the Cardinal d'Estouteville, and subsequently enlarged in the seventeenth century. The restructuring of the primitive convent was commissioned by Father Agostino Gioia, Prior General of the Order, who gave the task to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli. The project was approved in 1745 and the works began in 1746. Vanvitelli was officially hired on 7 March 1747 and Antonio Rinaldi was assigned to him as assistant. Vanvitelli built the Vanvitelliana Hall (the refectory) and the overlying chapter house (today the State General Advocacy Library), reducing the original surface of the convent. Parts of the facade of the convent were made by Felice Antonio Casoni and Domenico Castelli. But the real “gem” of the building is the Sala Vanvitelli, so called since 1968 and today used as a meeting room for the Bar. The rectangular room has a barrel vault and four windows on the main sides. On the wall in front of the entrance is the fresco with the Multiplication of the loaves and fishes by Gregorio Guglielmi. Presentation to the press: Rome, Angelica Library, Thursday 5 February at 11.00 Open to the public: 6 February - Sunday 15 March 2009 Hours: every day 10 - 19; Free admission Infoline: 06. 6829418 - 06. 6829206 - 06. 6829402 Press office - info@equa.it - 06.3236078 Monia Innocenti - Flaminia Casucci 335.7444219