iPinacoteca di BreraBrera
Pinacoteca viaggiante
The "travelling gallery" of Count Sommariva: 99 miniature enamels (1810-1825) copying Neoclassical masterpieces from his collection, carried with him across Europe.
More in Milan
Count Giovanni Battista Sommariva, a fervent supporter of Napoleon, took his art collection on tour. Between 1810 and 1825 he had five miniaturists copy his paintings in enamel on copper, set each one in a gilded bronze frame, and showed the set to princes, diplomats and salon hostesses across Europe as his personal calling card. Most of us just send a LinkedIn link.
Those 99 enamels, given to Brera by Emilia Sommariva Seillière in 1973, are in Room 1, where the Pinacoteca route now begins, alongside twelve Canova plaster busts. You have to lean in close: these are paintings by Bernardino Luini and Mattia Preti, among others, reduced to miniatures. The museum's phrase for it is great art prêt-à-porter.
It's one room, shared with the Canova show, so take it as the opening of a Brera visit rather than a trip of its own. Entry is included in the standard ticket, Tuesday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:15, last admission 18:00.
Look for
Abraham casting out Hagar
Look for Adèle Chavassieu d'Haudebert's enamel of Abraham sending Hagar away, copied from a painting now given to Mattia Preti but once credited to Caravaggio.
A fragment of the Red Sea crossing
Look for a piece of Bernardino Luini's Crossing of the Red Sea, copied onto enamel by Chavassieu d'Haudebert in 1822.
The gilded bronze frames
Look at the frames as well as the pictures: each enamel on copper has its own fine gilded bronze frame, made for a set that travelled Europe with its owner.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Nerding Out
Also at Pinacoteca di Brera
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- Pinacoteca viaggianteCourtesy of Pinacoteca di Brera
- Carlo Maria Mariani. The Eternity of PaintingCourtesy of Palazzo Citterio
- Un Tiziano per MilanoCourtesy of Museo Poldi Pezzoli
- Pinacoteca di BreraKarlmontague / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Palazzo CitterioGiovanni Dall'Orto / Wikimedia Commons
- Museo Poldi PezzoliPaolobon140 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gallerie d'Italia MilanoJwslubbock / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Museo Teatrale alla ScalaDaniel Case / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0