Exhibition of Chagal’s White Crucifixion inaugurated at Palazzo Cipolla in Rome as part of the “Jubilee is Culture” season

A few weeks ahead of the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, on December 24, the Dicastery for Evangelization inaugurated the fourth Exhibition of the “Jubilee is culture” season, entitled “Chagall in Rome”. It features the display of Marc Chagall’s masterpiece, The White Crucifixion. The work can be visited at Palazzo Cipolla in Rome from November 27, 2024, to January 27, 2025. Access is free and open every day from 10am to 8pm.

The work, created by the Belarusian painter who was of Jewish origin, in 1938, is on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago and represents a powerful symbol of hope and religious unity. The White Crucifixion, with its strong message in defense of human dignity and dialogue between cultures, is one of the artworks most appreciated by Pope Francis himself.

At the opening of the Exhibition, on November 26, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, one of the curators of the exhibition, Don Alessio Geretti, the Mayor of Rome and Extraordinary Commissioner for the Jubilee, Roberto Gualtieri, the President of Fondazione Roma Franco Parasassi and Alessandro Zuccari, Professor of History of Modern Art at Rome’s La Sapienza University all spoke.

Archbishop Fisichella said: “The exhibition dedicated to The White Crucifixion by Marc Chagall is the fourth event of the Jubilee is Culture season. Unlike previous exhibitions in the series, such as those dedicated to El Greco and Salvador Dalì, I wanted to avoid having Chagall's work placed in a church, preferring instead to extend its message to a wider public given its universal context. The display of the painting is one of the cultural initiatives put in place to mark the Jubilee of Hope because this painting is infused with a light that brings hope, a hope founded on love".

Don Alessio Geretti then provided a detailed analysis of the work. "The White Crucifixion was painted by Marc Chagall immediately after Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass - 9 and 10 November 1938) with the aim of denouncing the hatred and horrors of the 20th century perpetrated against the Jewish community. This painting is an icon: Christ at the center is a synthesis of the suffering endured by the persecuted innocents".

"The exhibition Chagall in Rome enriches the cultural offering of Rome" said Mayor Gualtieri, in his speech of thanks to the Pro-Prefect.

For those who wish, the official catalog of the exhibition is available at the exhibition.