Frick to Present Major Italian Masterpiece by Cagnacci this Fall

Guido Cagnacci was one of the most eccentric painters of seventeenth-century Italy, infamous for his unconventional art and lifestyle. His works, mostly religious in subject, are known for their unabashed, often unsettling eroticism, and his biography is no less intriguing. Though his pictorial style was influenced by some of the most important Italian painters of the time-the Carracci, Guercino, and Guido Reni-Cagnacci developed an individual and immediately recognizable artistic language.

This October, the Frick will present Cagnacci's ambitious Repentant Magdalene, considered a masterpiece of seventeenth-century Italian art, and a work that has not been seen outside California since its acquisition by the Norton Simon Museum almost thirty-five years ago. A testament to Cagnacci's genius, this extraordinary painting-the latest in a series of loans to the Frick from the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena-will introduce New York audiences to this largely forgotten artist.

Cagnacci's "Repentant Magdalene": An Italian Baroque Masterpiece from the Norton Simon Museum was organized by Xavier F. Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, The Frick Collection. Principal funding for the exhibition is generously provided by the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation. Major support for the exhibition and the accompanying book, The Art of Guido Cagnacci, is provided by Fabrizio Moretti, with additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Horvitz, Ayesha Bulchandani, and Mark Fisch and Rachel Davidson.

Comments Salomon, "It is exciting to host at the Frick the first exhibition in the United States dedicated to Guido Cagnacci. His paintings are among the most astonishing artworks that were produced in seventeenth-century Italy. The Repentant Magdalene is no doubt Cagnacci's absolute masterpiece, and it will be an honor to present Cagnacci and his work to a New York and international audience."

For more information, contact us at mediarelations@frick.org or 212.547.0710