Brera: A Century of Milanese Patronage

A Caravaggio does not end up at Brera by chance. In 1939, the Amici di Brera purchased the Supper at Emmaus, helping to secure one of the museum’s masterpieces for its collection. It is perhaps the most spectacular example of a Milanese tradition of patronage that began in 1926, when director Ettore Modigliani brought together a group of citizens committed to enriching the Pinacoteca’s holdings. One Hundred Years for Brera: Acquisitions and Gifts from the Amici celebrates this remarkable relationship through paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, photographs and documents. Works that entered Brera thanks to the association also include Silvestro Lega’s The Pergola and Giovanni Segantini’s Spring Pastures. The exhibition begins in the Napoleonic Rooms before extending throughout the museum and into Palazzo Citterio, inviting visitors to seek out works donated by the Amici that are still part of the permanent displays. What emerges is something quintessentially Milanese: the idea that a great museum belongs not only to the State, but also to a community willing to care for it.