Art, Raphael's Madonna of the Fish Returns to Naples After 400 Years

ARaphael's splendid Madonna del Pesce, intended for the Cappella del Doce in San Domenico Maggiore, arrived in Naples between 1503 and 1532: a work that inspired several generations of artists before being removed from its home and transferred to Madrid around the mid-seventeenth century.

After 400 years, for the first time, the masterpiece by the artist from Urbino returns home in the exhibition “The Spanish in Naples. The Southern Renaissance”, scheduled at the Capodimonte Museum from March 9 to June 25.

The 'return' journey of the famous painting was made possible thanks to the collaboration established by the Neapolitan museum with the Prado in Madrid, where the painting is now preserved and where the exhibition stopped between October and January. Compared to the Madrid event, the Capodimonte exhibition stands out for its strong ties with the territory. Many of the artists selected by the curators of the exhibition Riccardo Naldi and Andrea Zezza have embellished the churches of the city with their masterpieces, from San Giovanni a Carbonara to San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, a symbol of the Spanish political and cultural presence in Naples.

The Madonna del Pesce is just one of the works studied by artists based in the city at the beginning of the sixteenth century, who received and reworked the innovations of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and other Renaissance masters.