How the Met Reassembled a Masterpiece Scattered Across Centuries
In short: For the first time in centuries, Raphael’s Colonna Altarpiece is whole again. Once sold off piece by piece by nuns in the 1660s, this Renaissance treasure has been painstakingly reunited at The Met. Discover the technical marvels required to stabilize these fragile, half-millennium-old wood panels for their grand public return.
Commissioned in the early 16th century by the nuns of Sant’Antonio in Perugia, the Colonna Altarpiece was the first major work by a young Raphael. The artist, who lived only 37 years (1483–1520), designed the multipart structure to feature a central sacra conversazione—a sacred conversation between the Virgin Mary, the infant Jesus, and various saints. Following his death, the work was gradually dismantled and sold to collectors across Europe and the United States, leaving the panels separated for centuries.
The Met’s exhibition, 'Raphael: Sublime Poetry,' running from March 29 to June 28, 2026, marks the first comprehensive Raphael retrospective in the United States. It brings together over 170 masterpieces, including the long-lost components of the Colonna Altarpiece. Reassembling the work required unprecedented cooperation between institutions like the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, London’s National Gallery, and the Dulwich Picture Gallery, alongside pieces already held in the Met’s own collection.
Reuniting these panels presented a massive conservation challenge. Because Raphael painted on wood, the panels are highly sensitive to environmental shifts; changes in moisture can cause the wood to warp or the oil paint to crack. To ensure the safety of the fragile, curved panels, the Met’s conservation team utilized advanced microclimate technology. They developed specialized, sealed display cases equipped with data loggers to monitor temperature and humidity constantly, ensuring the panels remain in their current state throughout the exhibition’s duration.
This restoration of the altarpiece’s original 'visual impact' allows modern viewers to experience the work as Raphael intended, showcasing his early mastery of color and emotional depth. By overcoming the logistical hurdles of international lending and the physical fragility of 500-year-old wood, the museum has successfully restored the monumentality of an ensemble that had been fragmented since the 1660s.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Exhibition Tour—Raphael: Sublime Poetry | Met Exhibitions
- Also: A Raphael masterpiece is finally back in one piece
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