Perugino: Raphael's Master

Pietro Perugino was one of the most successful artists of the Italian Renaissance around 1500. Now the Alte Pinakothek of Munich (Germany) shows the first major show outside Italy to be devoted entirely to the painter. It comprises 40 exquisite paintings on loan from international collections (including the Uffizi Gallery, the Louvre and the Hermitage), focusing in particular on the heyday of the artist's career.

Apart from the impressive religious works, unique examples of Perugino's skill as a portraitist and of his mythological creations vividly illustrate the humanist ideals of the times.  It was not just the classical harmony and technical skill of his paintings that his contemporaries admired, but their contemplative, lyrical mood in particular.

In 1829, King Ludwig I of Bavaria managed to acquire one of the master's principal works, The Vision of Saint Bernard, for the Alte Pinakothek. This altarpiece is an invitation to rid Perugino of the shadow cast by his pupil Raphael.

Date: until October 15, 2012.
Location: Location: Alte Pinakothek. Barer Strasse 27, 80799, München. Germany.
Opening hours: From Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Tuesdays from 10am to 8pm.

See some of Perugino's works in the following slideshow: