The Renaissance of Bergamo and Brescia in the Christmas exhibition in Milan

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Lotto, Mystical Wedding of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Niccolò Borghi, 1523

The exhibition “The Renaissance of Bergamo and Brescia” is hosted, as in previous editions, in the Alessi hall of Palazzo Marino, until January 16 with free admission

From Bergamo and Brescia, the two cities in an extraordinary way Italian Capitals of Culture 2023 – due to the serious suffering endured during the pandemic – the main paintings of the Christmas exhibition of the Municipality of Milan.

The review The Renaissance of Bergamo and Brescia it is hosted, as in previous editions, in the Alessi hall of Palazzo Marino, until January 16 with Free admission. Four works.

the Mystical wedding of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Niccolò Bonghi, painted by Lorenzo Lotto in 1523, coming from the Carrara Academy of Bergamo; San Nicola di Bari introduces the pupils of Galeazzo Rovellio to the Madonna Enthroned with Child, made by Alessandro Bonvicino said the Moretto in 1539, e The Adoration of the Shepherds by Giovan Girolamo Savoldo, from 1540, from the Tosio Martinengo Art Gallery in Brescia; Catherine of Alexandria, Francesco and the offerer circa 1550 by Giovan Battista Moroni, from the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.

Why privilege this quartet of artists? Thanks to the will of the curators, Francesco Frangi and Simone Facchinetti, to highlight the realistic vocation of Bergamo and Brescia through four vertices of the production of Lotto, Moretto, Savoldo, Moroni.

So it is in the heart of the sixteenth century, when the two cities, in a virtuous intertwining of experiences, impose themselves with a language from strong realistic orientation, completely innovative in the Italian panorama of the time.

It is curious to note that he appears in two of the four canvases on display Catherine of Alexandria, cultured, noble, virgin and martyr figure. This heroine, of ancient devotion, embodies the essence of Christian female gifts: wisdom, righteousness and chastity. The saint is famous for having been subjected, because of her incorruptible faith, to the torture of the wheel.

Lotto shows her on her knees with a hair full of princely jewels, while the Child Jesus puts a ring on her finger as a sign of mystical union, Moroni instead represents the Divine Child handing the saint a red rose, a sign of martyrdom, and Catherine, leaning against a piece of hook wheel, hold a crown in your right hand.

Here is theAdoration of the shepherds from Savoldo, with dense and full-bodied mixtures and a chiaroscuro dynamic that involves the entire scene; those admirable chiaroscuro effects forerunners of the genius of Caravaggio. Games of light and shadow that envelop Mary and Joseph, common characters, almost crude, taken – as will those of Merisi – directly from the road, directly from the countryside, thus eliminating the fine line between the sacred and the profane. While the glimpse of the landscape, behind the hut with its worn-out walls, brings to mind the views of Flemish painters.
It’s still…

The Renaissance of Bergamo and Brescia

Palazzo Marino – Piazza Scala 2 – Milan

2 December -16 January 2022

Free admission

Hours: every day 9.30 – 20.00; Thursday 9.30 – 22.30

Info: [email protected]

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