At the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, art conversations with tea and pastries for an untold tale of the collection

In Milan, at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum returns for the second edition the series of meetings at tea time Tea Talks. Art Conversations at Casa Bagatti Valsecchi: seven appointments from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. dedicated to art history topics chosen to narrate the museum’s permanent collection in a new key. After the success of the first edition, the 2025 Tea Talks appointments, from an idea of director Antonio D’Amico, invite the public to experience Casa Bagatti Valsecchi under the banner of conviviality.

The cycle echoes the spirit of brothers Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi, who envisioned their house as a cenacle of encounter and culture. The appointments are led by the voices of Susanna Gualazzini, art historian and curator of the Biffi Arte Gallery in Piacenza, and Aurora Ghezzi, collection manager of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum. This year’s seven appointments will delve into cross-cutting themes, starting with the strong value of hospitality, told through the Museum’s Guest Book, followed by a focus on Hermann Hesse’s Narcissus and Boccadoro, and again an in-depth look at the iconography of saints through a survey of the most significant works in the Museum’s collection. It will then move, before the summer, into the English nineteenth century with the idea of ornament brought forth by the Arts & Crafts Movement. In September, Francesca Cappelletti, director of the Galleria Borghese in Rome, will analyze during a dedicated talk the relationship between patrons and artists starting with the role of Cardinal Scipione Borghese for Bernini and Caravaggio. And finally, two focuses closely related to Casa Bagatti Valsecchi: the Wunderkammer and the relationship with music of the two Milanese brothers.

The seven meetings are fee-based and by reservation and will take place from Feb. 19 to Nov. 19, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. Each meeting will last 90 minutes.

Schedule

Feb. 19 Courtesies for Guests.

The art of hospitality and conviviality The taste and pleasure of hospitality represent the heart of the housing project of the Bagatti Valsecchi brothers, who from the very beginning conceived the House as a shared space, a place of convivial and cultural exchange at the same time. The first appointment of the new edition of Tea Talks will take its starting point from the Guest Book, a veritable repertory of the relationships that intertwined the daily life of Fausto and Gi useppe Bagatti Valsecchi with the friendship of collectors, artists, artisans, art historians and lovers of beauty. The theme of “being well together” will then be visited in a series of works of nineteenth-century scope in which it finds peculiar and graceful declination.

March 19 Narcissus and Boccadore. Reflections of the Self.

Modern man’s ongoing conflict between obligation and freedom of choice, between nature and spirit, between duty and being, is explored by Hermann Hesse in Narcissus and Boccadore. A book that forces the reader to reflect on the condition of contemporary man, while offering an engaging combination of symbolic tale and picaresque novel. And with the same complexity, Narcissus enters the repertoires of pictorial art as a powerful symbol of the eternal dialectic between the self and the other.

April 16 Sacred accessories. Attributes and iconographies of saints.

When we visit a museum and look at historical paintings, we engage in an exercise of interpretation. This is especially true for saints, whose depictions can be difficult to understand. In the past, however, the iconography of s anti represented a codified and shared heritage, used as an educational tool for religious doctrine. Recognizing these protagonists meant not only identifying the theme of the work but also understanding the symbolic subtext it contained. Through an in-depth look at some of the most significant works in the Bagatti Valsecchi collection and other well-known museum collections, it will be possible to investigate the most unique stories of the protagonists of Renaissance works.

May 21 The Vertigo of Ornament. From Owen Jones to William Morris

Published in 1856, The Grammar of Ornament is still considered a seminal volume for the study of design. Its author, Owen Jones, devised a comprehensive treatise on design for the industrial age enriched with beautiful color illustrations created using chromolithography. The analysis of some illustrative plates will be the pretext for first identifying the patterns that inspired the decorative details of Casa Bagatti Valsecchi and then investigating the connection with the patterns that arose within the Arts & Crafts movement of William Morris and Edward Bourne - Jones.

Sept. 17 Artists Friends and Foes. A possible narrative in the halls of the museum. With Francesca Cappelletti

Francesca Cappelletti’s talk will explore the complex and fascinating relationship between patrons and artists, with a focus on the artistic and political dynamics that united Cardinal Scipione Borghese with two pivotal figures of Baroque art: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Through an analysis of the cardinal’s works and collecting strategies, it will emerge how Scipione’s patronage gave impetus to the creation of masterpieces that were destined to transform the artistic landscape of the time.

Oct. 22 Mirabilia. Journey through the treasures of the Wunderkammer.

Known by the German term Wunderkammer, the Chambers of Wonders were splendid collections of natural history specimens, instruments, mechanical inventions, geographical maps, archaeological rarities, coins, cameos and more, used for educational f ini as well as as a means of universal scientific inquiry. From the discovery of the most curious specimens preserved in the Bagatti Valsecchi collection, we will move on to an in-depth look at some of the most unique Wunderkammer designed to collect rare or bizarre specimens of natural history and artifacts.

Nov. 19 Magnificent Harmonies. Music at Casa Bagatti Valsecchi

Music is a recurring element in the daily life of the Bagatti Valsecchi brothers. Fausto had the chimney hood of his own sitting room decorated with a fascinating depiction of putti musicians while Giuseppe included several musical instruments in his , including mandolins, lutes and a very curious piano. The house thus reflected their passion for the art of music. Building on the Bagattesque narrative, the second part of the meeting will explore some great masterpieces of the past in which the relationship between music and classical myths is celebrated.

For info and reservations archivio@museobagattivalsecchi.org

Participation fee for all: 15 euros per meeting; 90 euros for seven meetings
Participation fee for members: 12 euros per meeting; 70 euros for seven meetings
Cost includes tea with pastries.

Pictured: Edouard Frederic Wilhelm Richter, Garden Tea Hour.

At the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, art conversations with tea and pastries for an untold tale of the collection

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