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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 APRIL 2021 4 ART MUŻA loans out Guido Reni painting for Dante exhibition in Italy THE national art museum MUŻA has loaned for a few months Guido Reni's painting "The Risen Christ embracing the Cross" for an exhibition in Dante's honour being held in Forlì, Italy. The exhibition, entitled "Dante – La Visione dell'Arte", will run from the 1st of April until the 11th of July at the Musei San Domenico in Forlì. It is being organised by the re- nowned Uffizi Galleries and the Fondazione Cassa dei Ris- parmi of Forlì, in collaboration with the municipality of Forlì. The exhibition celebrates the grandeur of Italian poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighie- ri and marks the 7th centenary of his death. Dante's ties with the city of Forlì stem from the fact that he took up residence there for more than a year after leaving Arezzo in the autumn of 1302. The exhibition will be an ar- tistic journey spanning nine centuries with some 300 se- lected masterpieces from the 13th to the 20th century, from Giotto, Filippino Lippi, Loren- zo Lotto, Michelangelo and Tintoretto, up to Boccioni and Casorati, and many other mas- ters of the last century. The exhibition is not simply an opportunity to commemo- rate Dante's anniversary – in the difficult moment that the whole world is experiencing, it also intends to represent a symbol of redemption and re- birth for the world of art and the spirit of culture and civili- sation that it represents. Reni's masterpiece, complet- ed in circa 1619, is a large oil on canvas measuring 228 x 138 centimetres, inspired by Mi- chelangelo Buonarroti's "Cris- to Risorto" sculpture at the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. The painting was requested by the exhibi- tion's organisers because of its metaphorical representation of the relationship between art and Dante's figure and literary works. Noel Zammit, Heritage Mal- ta's Chief Executive Officer, said that beyond its great artis- tic value, this exhibition is al- so an opportunity for a deeper collaboration among nations and entities. Heritage Malta welcomes such collaborations, which are another form of di- plomacy, as they reap plenty of fruit and lead to further joint ventures in fields such as re- search. "This is also an opportunity to exhibit the art in our national collection to foreign audienc- es," said Noel Zammit. Kenneth Cassar, MUŻA's Senior Curator within Herit- age Malta, remarked that we should all pride ourselves by the fact that none other than the prestigious Uffizi Galler- ies have shortlisted an artwork from the national collection at MUŻA to feature as one of the highlights of such an impor- tant exhibition. This further certifies that this artwork by Guido Reni, that once formed part of the Grand Master's col- lection at the Palace, is indeed a masterpiece of international repute. Italian painter Guido Reni The Risen Christ embracing the Cross by Guido Reni