the restoration of the brera`s napoleon - press release

THE RESTORATION OF THE BRERA'S NAPOLEON - PRESS RELEASE
The Association of the Friends of Brera and of Milanese Museums and the Superintendence of the
historic, artistic and ethno-anthropological heritage of Milan are pleased to present the restoration
project of the statue Napoleone come Marte pacificatore (Napoleon as a conciliator
Mars) by Antonio Canova courtesy of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2013 Art
Conservation Project.
This artwork is representative and characteristic of the palace that has housed the statue in the main
courtyard since 1859. It represents the center of the palace, not just from a geometric perspective, but
also a visual one, welcoming visitors and providing introduction to the unique body of the institutions
that are located in the palace.
This is not just an emblematic or emotional piece. The statue portrays a historical personality closely
linked to the Pinacoteca. Therefore it is also a sort of presentation and tribute to Napoleon who
established the Real Galleria di Brera (Royal Gallery of Brera) in 1809.
This artifact characterized by a complex symbolic meaning, has suffered from atmospheric agents and
now requires conservation to restore it to its former glory.
The work will begin in June 2013 and will last 12 months.
The conservation will take place on-site inside a transparent structure that will allow visitors
to view the restoration process as it happens. Educational panels about the statue itself
and the conservation efforts will adorn the structure and inform passersby of the work
being undertaken.
A dedicated space on the Pinacoteca's website will allow people to follow the project’s developments.
Educational activities devoted to general public and specific projects for schools and art experts will
also take place.
The restoration has been made possible by a generous grant from Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s
Art Conservation Project which provides grants to non-profit institutions to conserve works of art that
are significant to the cultural heritage of a country or region, or important to the history of art. Bank of
America Merrill Lynch’s support for local culture is an important part of their corporate responsibility
platform and they recognise that mutual respect and understanding are essential to building strong
economic communities.
“We are committed to connecting people and cultures worldwide through the powerful, common language of art. Through the ongoing conservation of important works of art around the world, we are
helping to preserve local culture and engaging present and future communities where we live and
work,” said Rena De Sisto, International CSR and Global Arts & Culture Executive, Bank of America
Merrill Lynch. “We are proud to be funding the restoration project of the statue Napoleone come
Marte pacificatore as part of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Art Conservation Project. This restoration effort further underpins our commitment to arts and culture in Italy, where we are proud to have
been doing business for more than 50 years.”
The restoration is managed by Daniele Pescarmona on behalf of the Superintendence for the historic
artistic and ethno-anthropological heritage of Milan. This project is part of the enhancement work that
the Pinacoteca di Brera is undertaking in preparation of the EXPO 2015 which will play a fundamental
role in the Milanese and international cultural stage.
Press Office Brera
Lucia Crespi, tel. 02 89415532 - 02 89401645
[email protected]
Press Office Bank of America Merrill Lynch
studio noris morano, tel. 02 76004745
02 76004736
[email protected]
Associazione Amici di Brerae dei Musei Milanesi Soprintendenza BSAE di Milano
Via Brera, 28 – 20121 Milano
Via Brera, 28 – 20121 Milano
www.amicidibrera.it
www.brera.beniculturali.it
SCHEDULE OF THE WORK OF ART
Antonio Canova,
Napoleone come Marte pacificatore,
bronze, cm 430x200x150, 1809-1811,
Milan, Brera Palace, Main courtyard
The bronze statue representing Napoleone come Marte
pacificatore (Napoleon as a naked, victorious and
conciliator Mars) is a masterpiece by Antonio Canova.
Property of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività
Culturali (Ministry for the Heritage and Cultural
Activities) the statue is located in the main courtyard of
the Palazzo di Brera (Brera Palace).
The statue was commissioned by Eugenio Beauharnais,
viceroy of the Italian Kingdom, in 1807 and it denotes
on the pedestal the persons responsible for the metal
casting and the year of execution: “FR. RIGHETTI. ET.
ALOYS. FIL. FEC. ROM. 1811”.
Due to a first failed attempt, the statue is the result of
the second metal casting that Francesco and Luigi
Righetti from Rome (father and son) made by following
the model that had been used for the marble version
sent to Paris in 1811 by Canova himself. The latter was
then acquired by the Duke of Wellington and now
exhibited at the Aspley House of London.
A second statue (made of plaster) was exhibited in
1809 in occasion of the Pinacoteca of Brera
inauguration. Then deposited in one of the Academy's
classroom, this plaster version was restored and shown
again in Pinacoteca of Brera just in 2009.
The bronze statue was eventually abandoned in the
Brera Palace after Napoleon’s fall from power but was
resurrected after Napoleon III arrival in Lombardy at
the end of the Second Italian War for Independence.
The statue was erected on a temporary base in the
main courtyard of Brera in 1859. The current granite
and marble base adorned by bronze eagles and friezes
designed by Luigi Bisi (professor of prospective at the
Fine Art Academy of Brera) were unveiled in 1864.
The bronze casting was undertaken via a unique
process (apart from the pole and the nike) created by
Canova himself. Two segments screwed together
compose the bar held by Napoleon in the left hand. The
nike was unfortunately stolen and was therefore rebuilt
in the 1980's using photographic documentation to
reconstruct the piece. The bronze material comes from
obsolete cannons of St. Angel Castle in Rome.
The pedestal of the monument is made up of three
parts: the base is made of granite, probably from
Baveno mines, and the dado and the collar are made of
marble from Carrara.
Antonio Canova (Possano 1757 - Venezia 1822)
Antonio Canova was born in Possano (Treviso) in 1757 and died in Venice in 1822. He was one of
the most important neoclassical Italian sculptor, highly celebrated in Italy and in Europe.
He started his career in Venice with his first works dating back to 1772. After a study tour from
Rome to Naples around 1779 – 1780, he settled in Rome in 1781. There he obtained prestigious
public and private commissions, the latter from noble men and cultured collectors who often went
to visit Canova's atelier.
Among his most significant marble artworks include: Teseo sul Minotauro (1781-1783; London,
Victoria and Albert Museum), the monumenti funerari dei papi Clemente XIV (1783-1787; Rome,
basilica of Santi Apostoli), and Gregorio XIII (1783-1792, Rome, basilica of San Pietro), Amore e
Psiche (1787-1793; Paris, Louvre Museum), Perseo trionfante (1798-1801; Rome, Vatican
Museum), Ercole e Lica (1795-1815; Rome, National Gallery of Modern Art), il monumento
funerario di Maria Cristina d’Austria (1798-1805; Vienna, Augustinerkirche), Venere (1807-1810;
Munich, Residenzmuseum), Paolina Borghese Bonaparte come Venere vincitrice (1804-1808;
Rome, Borghese Gallery), Danzatrice con le mani sui fianchi (1803-1812, Saint Petersburg, The
State Hermitage Museum), Teseo in lotta con il centauro (1804-1819; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches
Museum), Paride (1807-1812; Saint Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum), the Grazie (18151817; Woburn Abbey, duke of Bedford), Naiade e Venere e Marte (1815-1817, 1816-1822; London,
Buckingham Palace).
In 1826 Canova's brother Giambattista Sartori sold the atelier in Rome and brought all the plasters
and marbles to Possagno where he decided to build a plaster casts gallery (1831-1836) which was
later donated to the City Council. The drawings were given to the civic Museum of Bassano del
Grappa.
SCHEDULE OF THE RESTORATION
The surface of the bronze statue representing Napoleone come Marte pacificatore by Antonio
Canova has suffered several chemical and physical damages caused by atmospheric agents and
pollution.
In addition there are loose fragments from the marble section under the statue’s pedestal and
cracks on every side of the marble dado below.
Because of the statue’s condition an urgent restoration is required.
The entire restoration will be carried on in the main courtyard of the Brera Palace where the statue
was erected in 1859. It will begin on June 2013 and it will last 12 months.
During the first 3 and the last 3 months scaffoldings will be put all around the statue.
In the intermediate months the statue will be removed from the base and positioned on the ground
inside the restoration laboratory created by the architect Mr. Mario Bellini. A graphic, by designer
Italo Lupi, will explain the entire restoration project on the laboratory walls.
During the restoration process it will be possible for visitors of the Brera Palace to see the
restoration works thanks to the transparent materials that will be utilized by Cattaneo Ponteggi of
the structures surrounding the statue..
The Studio di Ingegneria Myallonnier will study the correct position of the statue in order to ensure
it on the base properly.
The Studio di Restauro Colella Servabo will coordinate all the technical aspects of the restoration
process. It will conduct the restoration of the structural elements of the statue, the maintenance of
the external and the internal surfaces as well as the consolidation of the marble section under the
statue's pedestal.
The restoration project will also see the participation of the Laboratorio di Analisi CSG Palladio
who will conduct the identification of chemical patinas.
Moreover the CNR (Istituto per la Conservazione e la Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali of Milan)
will provide information about the conservation techniques, the state of maintenance of the
surfaces (statue and base) and suggestions on how to correctly monitor the conservation conditions
after the restoration.
The restoration will be managed by Mr Daniele Gianpiero Pescarmona, (Historian of Art Officer),
project manager.
Project manager
Daniele Gianpiero Pescarmona
Security manager
Angelo Rossi
Monument restoration
Servabo – Studio Restauri di Mario Colella
Structural project
Myallonnier Ingegneria s.r.l.
Analysis
CNR – Istituto per la Conservazione e la
Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali
C.S.G. Palladio s.r.l.
Statue handling
Autovictor
Scaffolding planning and realization
Cattaneo Ponteggi
Restoration's laboratory planning
Mario Bellini Architect(s)
Restoration's laboratory realization
Cattaneo Ponteggi
Graphic design
Italo Lupi Studio
Insurance
SYNKRONOS ITALIA SRL – MGA
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ASSOCIAZIONE AMICI DI BRERA E DEI MUSEI MILANESI
The Association of the Friends of Brera and of Milanese Museums (Associazione Amici di Brera e
dei Musei Milanesi) is one of the oldest associations in Milan and it has always worked to promote
the knowledge, the protection and the enhancement of the historic Brera Palace (together with its
museums and research institutions) and the municipal museums in Milan.
The Association was founded in 1926, suppressed during Fascism and re-established in 1949. It
promotes conferences and meetings, visits and trips to Milan, Italy and abroad, besides educational
activities and masters. Furthermore it supports institutions through direct sponsorship,
fundraising campaigns and donations.
The Association also contributed (and still contributes) to the restoration of the works belonging to
the National Art Gallery of Brera, the digitalization of documents at various stages of the
restoration of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, the acquisition of new art pieces for the Art
Gallery. Among all initiatives it must be remembered the donation by 'Amici di Brera' of the Cena
in Emmaus di Caravaggio (the Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio) in 1939 and the recent purchase
of an artwork by the Maestro della Pala Sforzesca.
President
Aldo Bassetti
Honorary president
Ennio Brion
Vice-president
Federico Magnifico Fracaro
Councilors
Ezio Antonini
Sandrina Bandera
Caterina Bon Valsassina
Bona Borromeo Orlando
Marco Carminati
Claudia Consolandi
Luciano Gobbi
Mina Gregori
Piero Maranghi
Pietro Cesare Marani
Fernando Mazzocca
Isabella Valletta Bezzi
Enrico Vitali
Aldo Bassetti
President of the Associazione Amici di Brera e dei Musei Milanesi
When they have told me about the opportunity for the Association of the Friends of Brera and of
Milanese Museums to participate to the international contest promoted by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch having as a subject the restoration of an artwork of great importance, I have immediately
thought about Brera and so I asked to the Superintendence Sandrina Bandera what she thought
about it. She has promptly drawn my attention to the Canova’s artwork, symbol of Brera. Furthermore to confirm the validity of this choice I like to remember an important detail: the contract
done for the bronze casting, contract subscribed between Canova and the Righetti casters, is conserved here in Brera and it was acquired at an auction in Turin by following the highlighting done
by the Association of the Friends of Brera when I was just become the President.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s choice to help the Brera museum that is among the most important monumental complex in Italy, represents an example of great relevance for Milan. This city has
been able to contribute to the preservation, the maintenance and the enhancement of its own cultural heritage even in difficult historical moments. So it must make the most from this act of smart
and cultured generosity offered by a foreign institution in order to focus its economic and cultural
energies on projects dedicated to the preservation and conservation of its own and extraordinary
artistic heritage. Brera belongs to every citizens: so all merits and responsibilities belong to them.
SOPRINTENDENZA PER I BENI STORICI ARTISTICI ED ETNOANTROPOLOGICI PER LE
PROVINCE DI MILANO BERGAMO COMO LECCO LODI MONZA PAVIA SONDRIO VARESE
The Superintendence of the historic, artistic and ethno-anthropological heritage of Milan Bergamo
Como Lecco Lodi Monza Pavia Sondrio Varese is a peripheral body of the Ministero per i Beni e le
Attività Culturali (Ministry of the Heritage and the Cultural Activities, MiBAC) and the former relies
also on the Direzione Generale (General direction).
The Superintendence manages the conservation, maintenance and enhancement of the historic and
artistic heritage of the West Lombardy. In addition, to the Superintendence are entrusted tasks as: the
cataloguing of works of art, the protection and supervision of cultural goods movements, the promotion
of temporary exhibition, the planning and realization of educational activities.
The Pinacoteca di Brera (National Art Gallery of Brera) was open to the public on August 15th, 1809. It
is a state museum belonging to the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali and managed by the
Soprintendenza per i Beni Storici Artistici ed Etnoantropologici di Milano.
The collection is largely composed of Old Masters' paintings coming from churches and monasteries
mostly closed during the Napoleonic period; however the collection has grown over the years by way of
exchanges, donations and purchases. In the past few decades the Pinacoteca has acquired two
significant Milanese collections which include masterpieces of the 20th century.
The mission and the objectives of the Pinacoteca are to preserve, exhibit and enhance its heritage and
the Brera Palace.
Regional Director
Caterina Bon Valsassina
Superintendence and Director
Sandrina Bandera
Administrative Director
Carla Camilla Cattaneo
Historian of Art Officer
Daniele Gianpiero Pescarmona
Sandrina Bandera
Superintendent – Director of the Pinacoteca di Brera
Antonio Canova was the official sculptor of Bonaparte family and he realized for the Emperor two busts
and a plaster statue representing a deified Napoleon dressed in ancient vests as a “Marte pacificatore”
(conciliator Mars). The latter was then taken as a model to make the bronze casting of the statue that
now stands in the center of the Brera Palace's courtyard. Canova challenged the ancient art that was
considered unreachable and, by keeping to be inspired by the symbolic system of mythology and by a
shapes code that established the nude as an object, he created something new. He achieved this
accomplishment so clearly that Stendhal said about him that he didn't imitate the Greeks but he
invented a new model of beauty, as they did before him.
As it is happened in 2009 for the plaster statue now located in the Pinacoteca, the Superintendence will
manage the restoration of the bronze statue of Napoleone in veste di Marte pacificatore and its base.
This intervention is aimed at solving the static problems and the chemical and physical surfaces
alterations, giving back to the city of Milan an important cultural and historic symbol that is strictly
related to the Pinacoteca di Brera since it was Napoleon himself to establish the Reale Galleria d'Arte
(Royal Art Gallery) in 1809.
The restoration will be put into action inside a transparent laboratory in accordance to those usual
criteria that the Superintendence follows to show to the public all the different passages of the
restoration so as to visually involve everyone who enter into the courtyard or look through the gates
from the street.
I would especially thank the Associazione Amici di Brera e dei Musei Milanesi (and above all the
President Mr. Aldo Bassetti) that, despite the difficult period caused by the economic crisis, by
promoting the application to the grant opportunity sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, once
again has struggled to face one of the problems that affects Brera.
A special thank also to architect Mr. Mario Bellini and his studio who have already been selected for the
coming project for Brera, and to graphic designer Mr. Italo Lupi who both put at disposal their ideas
and projects absolutely for free.
In conclusion I would like to express our gratitude to Bank of America Merrill Lynch that by selecting
this project at a global stage, it recognized the technical, scientific and promotional features that
distinguish the primary quality of the project itself.