Galleria Estense

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Galleria Estense
Palazzo dei Musei-MO.jpg
Seat: Palazzo dei Musei
Data
place Modena coordinates: 44 ° 38 '53.7 "  N , 10 ° 55' 14.4"  EWorld icon
Art
Art museum
opening 1894
Number of visitors (annually) 22,837
management
Martina Bagnoli
Website

The Galleria Estense , based in Modena, is a museum that displays the art collection of the Dukes of Este, as well as a collection of works from the past two centuries.

The gallery was founded by Franz V in 1854 and has been located in the Palazzo dei Musei since 1894 . It consists of four halls and sixteen exhibition rooms dedicated to the important artistic heritage of the Dukes of Este since the glorious years of the reign of Ferrara. The Este collections are an aristocratic collection that caters to multiple areas of interest. They include the rich picture gallery, which houses a valuable number of paintings from the 14th to 18th centuries, including a group dedicated to painting the Po Valley and several sculptures in marble and terracotta. The core is formed by objects of applied art that were part of the magnificent ducal furnishings, as well as various specific collections such as drawings, bronzes, majolica, medals, ivory and musical instruments. The most important works include the Pietà by Cima da Conegliano , the Madonna and Child by Correggio , the portrait of Francesco I d'Este by Velazquez , a triptych by El Greco , a marble bust of Francesco I d'Este by Bernini, and a crucifix by Guido Reni .

history

The Este collections of Ferrara

The famous Estense harp on the 1000 lire note with Giuseppe Verdi

Ferrara was the main protagonist of a great cultural period during the humanist and Renaissance periods, which, although with less original results, continued into the centuries that followed.

The Dukes of Este ran one of the most famous courts in Europe, where many celebrated artists and writers of the time lived, such as Piero della Francesca , Rogier van der Weyden , Giovanni Bellini , Andrea Mantegna , Tiziano , Cosmè Tura , Dosso Dossi , Benvenuto Tisi Garofalo , Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso .

The whole Este family, especially as Dukes of Ferrara , looked after their art collections with particular care, including Lionello , Borso , Ercole I , Alfonso I , Ercole II and the two cardinals Ippolito I and Ippolito II , Owner of the famous Villa d'Este in Tivoli . In addition to the paintings, the Este family also collected statues, bronzes, bronzes, ceramics, gems, medals and coins. In addition to commissioning new works from the artists of the time, the Estensi received information from their correspondents in other cities about objects or works that might be of interest to them. They carried out the purchase, obviously being careful to spend as little as possible and sometimes even avoiding appearing in person at the negotiations.

Over the centuries much has been lost: Just think of the ancient and medieval gold coins , of which today three hundred in the gallery Este are available, but in an inventory from the mid-16th century, for Ercole II. Was made, several thousand were cited.

Cesare I.

In 1598 the capital was moved to Modena to replace Ferrara , which had to be ceded to Pope Clement VIII . Duke Cesare I tried to bring as much as possible from the Este collections in boxes full of works of art and rare or valuable items.

For the works that remained in Ferrara , Caesar did not hesitate to donate part of them to flatter some powerful figures such as Cardinal Borghese and the Emperor of Austria .

Francesco I.

Francesco I was the successor to Alfonso III. Despite his efforts to return to Ferrara, he wanted to create the artistic atmosphere at his court in Modena that had previously shaped Ferrara. For the capital of the downsized Duchy of Modena and Reggio , he wanted an imposing and magnificent ducal seat. The project was entrusted to the Roman architect Bartolomeo Avanzini , who was advised by Bernini , who could not accept the assignment addressed to him because he was busy with the Pope.

During a diplomatic trip to Spain , Francesco I had his portrait made by Diego Velázquez , which is now in the Galleria Estense. Another precious treasure is the famous marble bust by Bernini, portraits of the Duke by Justus Sustermans and another by Boulanger, which were executed without the Duke standing in front of him or having seen a picture of him beforehand. In order to overcome the reluctance of the sculptor, who in a letter to Cardinal Rinaldo, the duke's brother, judged not only very difficult but even daring, the enormous sum of a thousand doubles was paid for these times.

Other valuable works that were donated or bought by the Duke ended up in his collection at that time, such as paintings by Paolo Veronese , Salvator Rosa , Hans Holbein and the marble bust of his lover Constance von Bernini.

Francesco I, and later his successors, began to take possession of pictures from the churches and monasteries of the duchy and, if necessary, to replace them with copies, sometimes even in secret from the priests who wanted to resist. They ended up in the splendid ducal palace, which was gradually to become the building for paintings by Correggio , Cima da Conegliano and Parmigianino .

The successors of Francesco I.

His son Alfonso IV opened the gallery to the public. The wife Laura Martinozzi , niece of Cardinal Mazarin , who was regent of the duchy after the death of her husband (because her son Francesco II was only two years old), did not make any new acquisitions for the gallery and devoted herself mainly to good works and construction of churches and monasteries.

During the reigns of Francesco II and Rinaldo I, no significant works were acquired for the gallery.

A descent of the gallery took place under Francesco III. In order to raise money he decided to give the best pieces in the gallery to August III. from Poland for the large sum of 100,000 Venetian zecchini (equivalent to about 650 kg of gold). The following works of art went to Dresden in July 1746 : Andrea del Sarto , Diego Velázquez , Holbein , Rubens , Paolo Veronese , Tiziano , Parmigianino , Correggio , Guercino , Guido Reni , the Carracci and many others. These works can still be admired in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and ensure its high artistic level.

Francesco III. and Ercole III, who succeeded him, used the system already used by Francesco I to plunder the churches of the duchy ( Carpi , Reggio , Modena) and to rebuild the gallery. For example, frescoes by Nicolò dell'Abbate broke away from the Rocca di Scandiano, from which some paintings come.

Napoleonic pillage

Even Napoleon wanted to take art out of the gallery in ownership and the ceasefire in Cherasco, he stipulated that twenty paintings of the family Este to Paris to be placed, from which after a few months was fifty. The huge Napoleonic sacking of the Duchy of Modena, collections of works of art, archive and book goods, but also the glyptic collection of Este date from this period . On October 14, 1796, Napoleon came to Modena with two new commissioners, Garrau and Saliceti, who several times visited the galleries of medals and the gallery of the ducal palace to search the cameos collection and engraved semi-precious stones. After taking over a large number of manuscripts and ancient books from the ducal library, 1213 copies were handed over on October 17th: 900 Roman bronze coins, 124 coins from the Roman colonies, 10 silver coins, 31 bezels, 44 Greek coins, 103 coins from the Popes sent to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and kept there ever since.

Napoleon's wife Joséphine was hardly less modest in February 1797. She wanted to see the collection of cameos and gemstones in the Palazzo Ducale , but she was not content to look at them. In addition to those that were taken over by some of her husband's helpers, she took about 200 more with her. The Louvre received 1,300 drawings from the Estensi collections, 16 agate cameos, 51 semi-precious stones and several rock crystal vases, where they have been since then. On October 20, the busts of Lucius Vero and Marcus Aurelius, a shield from the Trajan column, and another bust of the emperor were confiscated. Saliceti and Garrau took several cameos with gold and enamelled gold frames themselves. A second delivery of paintings took place on October 25th when Tinet, Moitte and Berthelmy selected 28 paintings to send to Paris along with 554 other drawings and four albums with a total of 800 drawings. Numerous paintings from the Emilian school such as the altarpiece of the patron saints of Modena (1651) and Saint Paul (1644) by Guercino , the Purification of the Virgin by Guido Reni , the Appearance of the Virgin (1592) by Annibale Carracci , The Dream of Job (1593) by Cigoli , but also The Mocked Christ by Gianbologna and other painters who are housed in the Louvre and never return. It is estimated that 1,300 drawings alone were brought to the Louvre.

Restoration

Ercole III. sold some items that he had brought with him in exile in Treviso, but he also expanded the gallery to compensate for Napoleon's looting. With the restoration , Duke Franz IV came to Modena, who tried to get back some important works that Napoleon had stolen. From the Este collection, 22 paintings (plus two LeBrun) returned to Modena, while 28 paintings remained in France (4 were missing). He also added other works to the gallery using the usual method of searching the churches of the duchy.

His son Francesco V also bought something and reopened the gallery in the premises of the Palazzo Ducale to the public.

After 1859 and today

The 17th century Emilia room

In 1859 the history of the duchy ended and Modena and Reggio became Italian. On his escape, Francesco V took some small paintings and valuable books with him, including the famous Borso d'Este Bible . After the First World War , it was brought back to Modena thanks to the generosity of Senator Giovanni Treccani , who bought it at auction.

In the transition period, some losses and thefts inevitably occurred: Luigi Carlo Farini , dictator on behalf of the Savoyard government of the Modena provinces, was accused by some of having appropriated valuables from the ducal palace and seat of government in which he lived to have.

In 1879 the gallery had to move because the palazzo became the seat of the military academy . The gallery was built by Francesco III. The 18th century palace was relocated. Today known as Palazzo dei Musei , it houses the lapidarium, the city museum, the citizens' archive and the Biblioteca Estense , with numerous old codices, scores, old maps and valuable illuminated books, including the aforementioned Borso d'Este Bible.

The gallery's collection has been rearranged several times. It was last reopened to the public on December 3, 2006 after being closed for several months. It was equipped with a new microclimate system suitable for the preservation of the works on display, new lighting, a new exhibition path and accompanying captions.

description

Francesco Bianchi Ferrari , Altarpiece of the Three Crosses , also known as the Crucifixion of Mirandola (as it comes from the Church of San Francesco di Mirandola.)

The gallery begins with a series of marble and bronze busts from the Renaissance and 17th centuries and a display case with the Gonzaga bronze vase, which the sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi , called the Old, created for the Duke of Mantua and the 27, 5 cm high bronze by Bertoldo di Giovanni , a Florentine sculptor who was a pupil of Donatello and a master of Michelangelo .

At the end of the room is the approximately one meter high white marble bust of Francesco I von Bernini , a work from the 17th century of the highest value.

Among the unique pieces is the famous "Harp Estense", which was depicted on the Italian 1,000 liter banknotes from 1969 to 1981. It is shown together with an altar cloth made of semiprecious stones from the 17th century and floral pictures by Jean de la Roque on parchment. It is a 148 cm high, for the time (1558), very rare musical instrument completely covered with decorations. The harp is said to have been made in the workshop of violin maker Giovanni Battista Giacomelli and decorated by artists from Ferrara such as the painter Giulio Marescotti and Giuseppe Mazzuoli , known as il Bastarolo, who made the upper friezes.

Among the most famous artists represented in the gallery who are represented in the gallery:

The paintings are combined with sculptures of the time. In the gallery there is also a Madonna and Child and an Atlant by the great sculptor Wiligelmo and a coral crib from the 18th century.

Picture gallery

  • Adoration of the Shepherds by Boccaccio Boccaccino

  • Bust of Francesco I d'Este by Bernini

  • Adoration of the Magi by Polidoro da Lanciano

  • Adoration of the Magi by Camillo Procaccini

  • Allegory of Music by Domenico Piola

  • Angel with clouds by Domenico Fetti

  • Assumption of Mary by Ludovico Carracci

  • Annunciation, saints and visitors of South German painters

  • The risen Christ appears to Saint Mary Magdalene from a successor to Lelio Orsi

  • Adoration of the Child by Giovanni di Paolo

  • Allegory of Patience by Camillo Filippi and Bastianino

literature

  • Luciano Chiappini: Gli Estensi . In: Le grandi famiglie d'Europa . Edizioni Dall'Olio, Milan 1967 (Italian).
  • Luigi Amorth: Modena capitale: storia di Modena e dei suoi duchi dal 1598 al 1860 . Martello Editore, Milan 1973 (Italian).
  • Giorgio Bonsanti: Galleria Estense . Banca popolare di Modena, Modena 1977 (Italian).
  • Giuseppe Panini: La famiglia estense da Ferrara a Modena . Edizioni Armo, Modena 1996 (Italian).
  • Franco Cosimo Panini (ed.): Le Muse e il Principe. Arte di corte del Rinascimento Padano . Catalogo della Mostra tenuta a Milano nel 1991. Modena 1991 (Italian).
  • Maria Grazia Bernardini: La Galleria Estense di Modena: guida storico-artistica . Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 2006, ISBN 88-366-0680-6 (Italian).
  • Stefano Casciu (Ed.): La Galleria Estense di Modena. Guide to breve . Panini, Modena 2015, ISBN 978-88-570-0901-8 (Italian).

Web links

Commons : Galleria Estense  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gallerie estensi - Galleria estense .
  2. ↑ Arpa Estense .
  3. ↑ S. Casciu, La galleria Estense di Modena.