A magician of the brush, an offstage scenographer, a master of illusion - these are just a few of the terms used to describe Giambattista Tiepolo, a giant of art in the Europe of the 1700s. Tiepolo left an important series of frescoes in Milan, from Palazzo Archinto to Palazzo Clerici to Palazzo Casati Dugnani, yet the city has never hosted an exhibition dedicated to him. This autumn, the Gallerie d’Italia marks the 250th anniversary of the death of this Master with an exhibition that recognises the international scope of the artist - his work in the royal court of Dresden, his spectacular “special effects” at the Palace of Würzburg, the exceptional decorative work, executed in his later years, for Charles III in Madrid, where he died on March 27, 1770. At the exhibition spaces of Intesa Sanpaolo in Piazza Scala, around forty signed works highlight the immensity of Tiepolo in a dialogue with other greats of his times - a wonderful occasion to admire a vast array of mythological painting and masterpieces of religious art, giant canvases created for Venetian nobles and frescoes rarely seen in public, such as the Milanese works created for Sant’Ambrogio and Palazzo Gallarati Scotti. Drawings and sketches are also on hand to offer behind-the-scenes looks at the making of masterpieces, including the Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra for the Palazzo Labia in Venice and the masterpieces created for the Bavarian residence of Prince-Bishop Carlo Filippo of Franconia as he journeyed among the most refined artistic centres of Europe during the 1700s.
An Italian in Paris - When Gae Aulenti Restored the Musée d’Orsay
The Italian architect and designer transformed the former railway station of Gare d'Orsay, designed by architect Victor Laloux, into a treasure chest of Impressionist masterpieces.
Madonna of the Towers by Bramantino at the Mystery of the Overturned Toad
What symbology is hidden behind the animal depicted by the artist under the figure of Archangel Michael in the work created towards the end of the second decade of the 1500s?
Luigi Sacchi, Alessandro Duroni, Luca Fortunato Comerio were among the first to immortalise the city’s artistic heritage with its works of art, monuments and historic events.
The Vittoriale degli Italiani - the Extraordinary Dwelling of Gabriele D’Annunzio
Just a handful of kilometres from Milan stands one of the most eccentric and extraordinary homes in Italy. The original furnishings, the charming atmosphere and suffused light, the library, the spectacular park, all celebrate the genius of an eclectic and truly original man.
