The self-portrait of Fortunato Duranti from the civic picture gallery of Montefortino

Montefortino - In Montefortino there is a civic art gallery dedicated to Fortunato Duranti. In fact, the collection of works contained therein, over 190, derive from a donation that he, artist and collector, made to the municipality of which he was a native. Duranti lived between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and lived most of the time in Rome.

Here he not only drew and painted, but above all he did the buying and selling of works of art. A mishap prompted him to return to his hometown. In Vienna he was mistaken for a spy and arrested. As a result, he suffered for the rest of his life from mental disorders which resulted in real schizophrenia. Since the municipality of Montefortino helped him in his old age, he decided to donate what remained of his collection. Among the paintings in the art gallery there is also a self-portrait of him, which was exhibited in the exhibition following the 2016 earthquake. Here Duranti looks at the observer with feverish eyes, with a stormy landscape as a background. The upper right part of the canvas seems torn, inviting the viewer to go beyond appearances.