Perugino's Resurrection in the papal library

(Vatican Radio) Ever wonder about the painting of Christ’s Resurrection seen peering down upon the Pope as he receives important guests and foreign dignitaries in the papal study? Well, it’s a master work by 15th century Renaissance Italian painter Pietro Vannucci, perhaps better known as Perugino.

The Resurrection, orginally a panel from a Perugino altarpiece, was taken down in the Jubilee year 2000 to undergo lengthy restoration. The project was funded by the Patrons of the Vatican Museums, under the sponsorship of Anthony and Patricia McClaughlin of New York.

While the Resurrection was in the care of Vatican restorers, Pope John Paul II replaced it with a painting of Pinturicchio’s Coronation of the Virgin from the Vatican Museums.

But, it was Pope Paul VI who first went through the Vatican Museum’s storage rooms and chose Perugino’s Resurrection for display in his private library. The attentive viewer, however, can catch a glimpse of the painting in pictures of Pope John Paul II receiving world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat. Or in images of Pope Benedict or Francis welcoming leaders from other countries.

Though in the Pope’s private library for some forty years and off limits to outsiders, the painting was briefly made available to the public shortly after restoration work was completed in 2004.

Professor Arnold Nesselrath, Director of the Vatican Museums Department for Byzantine, Medieval and Modern Art took Tracey McClure round to the Sistine Salon where the painting was temporarily on display at the time for an up-close look.

Listen to this program by Tracey McClure from our archives: