Explore the exhibit

Art Gallery’s heritage includes the pictorial and the ethnographic collection.

The pictorial collection covers a wide time span from the 15th up to the 20th century, with some forays into the 21st century, a journey starting from the Spanish domination up to the present day. The retables of Art Gallery, the real protagonists of the collection, range from around 1410 with the work of the Barcelona-born Joan Mates, to the retable of San Bernardino dated 1455 and created by Rafael Tomas and Joan Figuera, up to the first manifestations of a local Sardinian painting represented – among others still anonymous – by the Master of Castelsardo (parts of the Retablo della Porziuncola) and the Master of Sanluri (Retablo di Sant’Eligio). It must be emphasized that this collection, a true hybrid of the complex Mediterranean context, is unmatched by other Italian public collections.

During the visit it is possible to also admire the various exponents of the so-called Stampace school, started and led by Cavaro family from Cagliari. Among these, the work of Lorenzo is well-known (present with Calvary dated 1508), attested between 1500 and 1528, but the real star of the family was his brother Pietro Cavaro (documented between 1508 and 1537), a great artist who managed to combine the Iberian preciousness with the Italian Renaissance innovations. The same path was followed by his son, Michele, who worked closely with his father throughout his life.

There are numerous other works in the collection that testify to the city’s continuous exchanges with other territorial realities: the Tuscan school of the 15th century; that of southern Italy and Hispanic-Flemish of the 16th; and important examples of works from the Genoese, Roman, Neapolitan and Venetian contexts of the 17th and 18th centuries. Furthermore, devotional works are exhibited such as the important Esquivel Reliquary, made of precious woods with elegant painted and engraved scenes, and numerous objects of liturgical use.
To complete the chronological path, the following centuries are represented both by important Sardinian painters of the last century, who have as a recurring topic the search for everyday life in the representation of life in the fields or typical costumes, and by the closest contemporary ones, with works by artists still active.

The ethnographic collection, on the other hand, was formed in the 1920s, thanks to the sensitivity of the Superintendent Antonio Taramelli, who was able to understand the importance of collecting and preserving all those testimonies that were defined as “minor art” or “popular art”. This section includes fabrics, jewels, weapons, home furnishings and baskets belonging to the Sardinian tradition.
Furthermore, a notable collection of weapons enriches the heritage of the Art Gallery, perhaps the most important publicly owned in Sardinia. One of the highlights of the collection is the Sardinian single-barreled rifle, called Cannetta or Cannetteddha, a very widespread and much appreciated weapon in the 18th century, equipped with a flintlock, with a slender and elegant line.
The collection also includes a valuable collection of knives and sidearms.

To consult the descriptions of the most representative works of the Picture Gallery, visit this site.