On 15 and 16 December, Villa Lusa, the headquarters of the Portuguese Embassy to the Vatican, hosted the presentation of the book “The Gaudium Magnum Collection. Old Masters Paintings and Drawings at Villa Lusa, Rome”.

The book presents a selection of works of art from the prestigious Portuguese Gaudium Magnum collection, owned by the Gaudium Magnum Foundation, Lisbon, and was presented by art historian Giulia Rossi Vairo, integrated researcher of the Institute of Medieval Studies, who, with Luísa d’Orey Capucho Arruda, is co-curator of this volume.

The book brings together texts by Portuguese and international art historians and presents eighteen works by European masters, among which are the Portuguese artists Alvaro Pirez de Évora, António or Manuel Campelo, Francisco de Matos Vieira, also known as Vieira Lusitano and Domingos António Sequeira, who lived and worked in Italy to complete their artistic training.

At the launch, which was aimed at art experts and researchers and the diplomatic corps, H. E. António de Almeida Lima, Portuguese Ambassador to the Vatican, welcomed various personalities from the cultural world, including Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça and the co-presidents of the Gaudium Magnum Foundation, Maria and João Cortez de Lobão.

About the Gaudium Magnum Foundation

The Gaudium Magnum Foundation – Maria and João Cortez de Lobão has existed since 2018 with the mission of raising the profile of Portugal, the Portuguese language, its culture and its people. The Foundation aims to be an institution open to the world, which promotes the common good and contributes to a more just society, in the light of Christian values and Portugal’s mission in the world.

Bibliographic reference:
L. d’Orey Capucho Arruda and G. Rossi Vairo (eds). The Gaudium Magnum Collection. Old Masters Paintings and Drawings at Villa Lusa, Rome | The Gaudium Magnum Collection. Old Masters Paintings and Drawings at Villa Lusa. Florence, Di Centre, 2021.