January 29, 2011. “Without Melozzo, the work of Raphael and Michelangelo would have never existed.” This statement by Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, sums up the impact this renaissance painter had on some of the greatest Italian painters. Melozzo da Forli has not gone down in history with the same amount of fame as other painters but his influence on art has been well recognized. Now, some of the artist's best known works in the Vatican Museums are leaving for his hometown.

The four paintings that are leaving are his famous angels, work that reveals Melozzo's precision in representing human beauty. Starting January 29, they will be on display in the Italian town of Forlì, for the exhibition “Melozzo from Forlì: the human beauty of Piero della Francesca and Raphael.”

Pier Giuseppe Dolcini
Exhibitions, “Melozzo da Forli”
“The interesting thing about Melozzo is that he recognized the concept of beauty of Piero della Francesca and passed it on to Rafael. It's very striking, because Melozzo is a painter of universal values. Something that is especially  evident in the Forlì exhibition.”

Along with Melozzo's angels, the exhibit will also have some of the best work of Bramante, Berruguete, Botticelli and Fra Angelico.

This collection of masterpieces will only be on exhibit in the Italian town of Forlì until the 12th of June.