Caravaggio’s Legacy: Professor Francesca Cappelletti and Dr Xavier Bray in Conversation
| Date | Monday 12 January 2026 |
| Time | 18.30-19.30 GMT (drinks and exhibition visit until 20.45) |
| Location | At the museum (Theatre) and online (Zoom) |
| Speaker | Dr Xavier Bray and Professor Francesca Cappelletti |
Join Dr Xavier Bray and Professor Francesca Cappelletti for a special evening in conversation as they bring the Wallace Collection and Rome’s Galleria Borghese into the same frame, tracing surprising connections between two renowned museums shaped by taste and ambition.
Together they will explore the passions and priorities of two of Caravaggio’s most influential patrons, Vincenzo Giustiniani and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and what their collecting habits reveal about power and the making of artistic reputations.
A leading Caravaggio scholar, Professor Cappelletti will also share the latest thinking in Caravaggio research, including fresh insights into a remarkable group of ‘profane’ paintings by the artist that are now lost, and what these missing works can still tell us about Caravaggio’s world and his patrons.
About the speakers: Dr Xavier Bray is Director of the Wallace Collection.
Professor Francesca Cappelletti is an art history professor at the University of Ferrara and the director of Galleria Borghese in Rome. She graduated from the University of Rome and where she verified the authenticity of the Caravaggio painting, The Taking of Christ, with Laura Testa, while they were students. Francesca also studied at the Warburg Institute in London and the Collège de France in Paris.
Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special talk, followed by drinks and exhibition visit until 20.45.
Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum via Zoom. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.
Ticket options
| Date | Monday 12 January 2026 |
| Time | 18.30-19.30 GMT (drinks and exhibition visit until 20.45) |
| Location | At the museum (Theatre) and online (Zoom) |
| Speaker | Dr Xavier Bray and Professor Francesca Cappelletti |
Join Dr Xavier Bray and Professor Francesca Cappelletti for a special evening in conversation as they bring the Wallace Collection and Rome’s Galleria Borghese into the same frame, tracing surprising connections between two renowned museums shaped by taste and ambition.
Together they will explore the passions and priorities of two of Caravaggio’s most influential patrons, Vincenzo Giustiniani and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and what their collecting habits reveal about power and the making of artistic reputations.
A leading Caravaggio scholar, Professor Cappelletti will also share the latest thinking in Caravaggio research, including fresh insights into a remarkable group of ‘profane’ paintings by the artist that are now lost, and what these missing works can still tell us about Caravaggio’s world and his patrons.
About the speakers: Dr Xavier Bray is Director of the Wallace Collection.
Professor Francesca Cappelletti is an art history professor at the University of Ferrara and the director of Galleria Borghese in Rome. She graduated from the University of Rome and where she verified the authenticity of the Caravaggio painting, The Taking of Christ, with Laura Testa, while they were students. Francesca also studied at the Warburg Institute in London and the Collège de France in Paris.
Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special talk, followed by drinks and exhibition visit until 20.45.
Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum via Zoom. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.
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