THE QUEEN AT FERMI

Queen Elizabeth II promises to become the star attraction of the exhibition: “I Pittori della Realta” (Artists of Reality” ) running at the Palazzo dei Priori Gallery, Fermi (Marche). She shares pride of place among formidable masters spanning three centuries of art, from the '600 to the '900, including a Rubens “Adoration of the Magi” and two Giorgio de Chirico masterpieces.

The painting of the Queen, commissioned around the time of her coronation in 1953 and completed in two years by the celebrated Italian artist Piero Annigoni, was painted in Buckingham Palace between 1954-55. It was an instant success and was reproduced on banknotes and stamps all over the Commonwealth. The Fermi portrait is not, however, the original – considered too precious to be transported from London, but a perfect copy made in 1960 by Annigoni's leading apprentice, Romano Stefanelli for a private collector in Florence. It is considered an exact replica and is countersigned with the master's mark of guarantee.

The Fermi exhibition aims to highlight a lesser known aspect of the progression of art movements through three centuries when there was strong counter movements grew up against Modernism, in which groups of artists attempted to preserve the traditions of the past. Keeping the Queen company are works by artists Gregorio Sciltian, brothers Xavier and Antonio Bueno, contemporaries of Annigoni, as well as others who were part of “The Painters of Reality” movement.

The exhibition contains 80 works and is part of a cycle of cultural events centred in the Marche region throughout 2023. Running until May 2023.

Info: Tel. +39.0734.284244/347 www.fermomusei.it