Female depiction in the sacred: an exhibition in Brescia with works from the late 16th century

Female depiction in painting with a sacred subject: this is the theme at the center of the exhibition Sacro al femminile. Works by Moretto’s Pupils, scheduled from Feb. 12 to June 12, 2022, the Diocesan Museum of Brescia, inside the 16th-century complex of San Giuseppe. The exhibition presents 13 works created by the main Brescian pupils of Alessandro Bonvicino known as Moretto (Brescia, c. 1498 - 1554), such as Francesco Ricchino (1509/1513-1573), Agostino Galeazzi (1523 - 1576/1579) and Luca Mombello (1518/1520-1594/1595), from the collection of the Diocesan Museum of Brescia, the Brescia Civic Museums and private collections.

The exhibition, curated by Davide Dotti, assisted by a scientific committee composed of Fiorella Frisoni, Valerio Guazzoni, and Angelo Loda, will analyze the female figure in painting with a sacred subject, which, not only for Moretto, but also for Agostino Galeazzi and Luca Mombello, represents the numerically most relevant of their pictorial production, through paintings such as The Immaculate Con ception and God the Father, The Conversion of Magdalene, The Coronation of the Virgin with the allegory of Modesty and Humility, and The Presentation of Mary at the Temple by Mombello.

For the occasion, some previously unpublished paintings by Agostino Galeazzi will be presented, such as the Holy Family with St. Joseph and St. John and Noli me tangere, valuable additions to the limited catalog of the Brescian master, as well as the Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine by Luca Mombello, which still retains the original frame designed and carved by the artist himself. After more than a century since its last public appearance, which took place in 1904 at the Brescia National Exhibition, it will be possible to once again admire the splendid altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child with Saints Cecilia and Catherine and two patrons, an early masterpiece by Agostino Galeazzi dated 1552, once placed on the altar of the noble Brescian Luzzago family in the church of San Pietro in Oliveto, then transferred during the 19th century to the Bishop’s Palace in Brescia.

The exhibition, promoted and organized by the Diocesan Museum of Brescia, under the patronage of the Fondazione Provincia di Brescia Eventi, completes the itinerary of the exhibition Women in Art from Titian to Boldini, on display until June 12 at Palazzo Martinengo in Brescia, which documents how the depiction of women has played a leading role in the history of Italian art, from the dawn of the Renaissance to the Belle Époque, and is the starting point for the discovery of the treasures of the permanent collection of the Diocesan Museum of Brescia.

The statements

“The itinerary,” says Nicoletta Bontempi, president of the Diocesan Museum of Brescia, “dialogues with the exhibition Women in Art at Palazzo Martinengo, enhancing the concept of a diffuse museum that goes beyond spatial boundaries to weave ties and partnerships with other city realities while maintaining the identity there each subject involved. An opportunity to create stimulating network and connection actions, reflected in the relationship, through history, between Museum, territory and city.”

“The Diocesan Museum of Brescia seizes this exhibition as an opportunity to insert itself within the lively cultural context of Brescia,” says Mauro Salvatore, Director of the Diocesan Museum of Brescia, “rediscovering the masterpieces of the territory dedicated to the centrality of the female figure in the sacred sphere together with the legacy of Moretto’s style, as we approach the appointment of Brescia-Bergamo Italian Capital of Culture 2023.”

“The exhibition, enhanced by previously unseen works and canvases that have not been seen in public for many decades,” says Davide Dotti, curator of the exhibition, “offers an opportunity to take stock of the situation from a historical-critical and attributionist perspective on the works fired by Galeazzi, Mombello and Ricchino, the three main Brescian pupils of Moretto who picked up the cultural and artistic legacy of the great master, bringing it from the height of the Renaissance to the age of the Mannerism.”

Admission to the exhibition at Palazzo Martinengo allows a free visit to the Sacro al femminile exhibition and the permanent collections of the Diocesan Museum of Brescia.

A Silvana Editoriale catalog accompanies the initiative.

Hours: daily, except Wednesday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and the Museum’s collections: full price: € 6.00; reduced price: € 3.00; free by presenting the ticket for the exhibition Women in Art from Titian to Boldini, set up at Palazzo Martinengo (via Musei 30). Information: tel. 030.40233; museo@diocesi.brescia.it; www.museodiocesano.brescia.it

Pictured: Agostino Galeazzi, Madonna and Child with St. John (oil on canvas, 103 x 135 cm; Private collection)

Female depiction in the sacred: an exhibition in Brescia with works from the late 16th century

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