The processional banner of the SS Trinità by Raphaelkept in the municipal art gallery of City of Castello will be exhibited at the Met, Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Raphael sublime poetry’, curated by Carmen Bambach, scheduled from 23 March to 28 June 2026, a complete journey through Raphael’s work with over 200 works from museums of international profile such as the Vatican Museums, Vatican Apostolic Library, Uffizi, Louvre, Prado, British Museum and National Gallery, to name the most illustrious institutions. At the Met it will be possible to see the Standard, for the first time after the completion of the aesthetic restoration, carried out by the Central Institute of Restoration, supported by the New York museum itself as a loan fee.
Raphael’s Processional Standard, oil painting on canvas (166×94 cm per side), with a seventeenth-century frame, dating back to between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, is preserved in the Sala della Contemplazione of the municipal art gallery of Città di Castello. It is one of the very first works attributed to the artist, the only painting by Raphael remaining in Città di Castello and the only movable work by Raphael in Umbria. Owned by the municipality of Città di Castello, it is considered – and as such studied – a work of exceptional cultural value, both because it attests to the very first works of Raffaello magister and for its artistic level, which presents characteristics typical of the artist’s mature era.
At the same time, with the authorization of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Landscape of Umbria, the conservative intervention will be completed, initiated by the Central Institute of Restoration of Rome, as part of the exhibition of the 500th anniversary of Young Raphael in Città di Castello and his gaze, which took place in the municipal art gallery from October 2021 to January 2022, and not completed due to the timing of the exhibition event, which was strongly influenced from the Covid-19 health emergency. The restoration of the Standard, the results of which will be published, will be preceded by a phase of study, research and diagnostics with cutting-edge instruments and the consultancy of specialized laboratories in Naples and Rome. Although the conditions of the Standard are considered non-critical, even the methods of handling the work have been developed with the use of technologies and supports capable of guaranteeing maximum safety and protection, both in the transfer to Rome and, at the end of the restoration, in America”.
“The Met’s exhibition on Raphael, with an international profile”, declare the mayor of Città di Castello Luca Secondi and the councilor for culture Michela Botteghi, “will promote knowledge of the Standard, among a qualified and broad audience, with the positive repercussions that such an exhibition determines, in terms of audience and reputation, for the museum and the territory that houses it; it will also allow the institution to enhance a work of enormous cultural and identity value for the city, thanks to the project of restoration of the Central Institute of Restoration and to the granting of a fee for the loan by the Met.