MarteS Sorlini Art Museum acquires Pietro Bellotti's La Vecchia popolana, rediscovered in private collecting

The MarteS Museo d’Arte Sorlini of Calvagese della Riviera (Brescia) has acquired La Vecchia popolana by Pietro Bellotti (Roè Volciano, 1625 - Gargnano, 1700), which will thus enter its collection. It is an oil on canvas dated between 1680 and 1690, an emblematic example of reality painting that was long believed lost . Before being integrated into the museum itinerary, the work will be exhibited for the first time alongside a 19th-century photograph documenting its existence, a key element in its identification and rediscovery after remaining in private collecting for years.

The Sorlini Collection, consisting mainly of works from the Venetian and Veneto schools dating from the 14th to the 19th century, now reaches 185 works thanks to the will of Stefano Sorlini, president of the Foundation and son of Luciano Sorlini (1925-2015), the Brescian entrepreneur who started the collection, whose birth centenary falls this year.

The acquisition of La Vecchia popolana not only enriches the collection, but also complements three important paintings by Giacomo Ceruti, known as il Pitocchetto, which Luciano Sorlini purchased at the time. Bellotti’s work will thus be compared with Ceruti’s works, highlighting the evolution of genre painting between the 17th and 18th centuries.

Long attributed to international artists such as Diego Velázquez and Georges de La Tour, Bellotti’s painting has only recently been recognized as his own. The work became known to the public thanks to a 1940 article published in Burlington Magazine, accompanied by a photograph from before 1886, which attested to its presence in the collection of the Marquises of Casa Torres in Madrid. However, in the following years, the painting seemed to disappear without a trace. Through careful investigation of international art markets, the work was traced to private collectors, right from the photograph that had allowed its study in 1940. The acquisition of this canvas, four hundred years after Pietro Bellotti’s birth, not only enriches the museum’s collection with an important piece, but also represents a significant moment in the evolution of MarteS and the rediscovery of reality painting.

“Art is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer to forge it.” In this quote by Vladimir Majakovsky we read the modern mission of museums, not closed cathedrals but places where to live and possibly improve the world through beauty," said Stefano Sorlini, President of the Luciano Sorlini Foundation. “In recent years, the quality of our activities has led us to be appreciated by other museums, both national and international, with whom we have organized exchanges and loans of exceptional works and carried out important joint studies. The works of art exhibited in our halls, from collector’s pieces are now wonderful cultural tools capable of conveying knowledge and sensitivity to beauty. This is the path we want to take: from a private collection of the Founder, created solely on his taste, his pleasure, to a prominent museum identity. Underlining this new phase is the significant milestone reached in 2024. The MarteS obtained the recognition sanctioned by the Lombardy Region and thus became part of the network of regional museums. This important acquisition gives us the opportunity to further study Bellotti and his important influences on Ceruti and this pictorial genre.” “La Vecchia popolana,” he continues, “represents, as the title suggests, an elderly woman looking at the viewer with a slight smile on her lips, perhaps amused by the young boy present at her side. On her head is a white veil of thick fabric, wearing a dark dress, brightened by the slight touch of color in the red of the handkerchief. In her left hand she holds a staff, while just above it a rosary of dark stones sprouts from the belt at her side. On the other side, the boy, in a brown suit that fades into the homogeneous background of the scene, jokes as he clings to the woman’s arm. Here Pietro Bellotti, as is typical of reality painters, insists markedly on the naturalistic datum of the subject, crudely and sharply highlighting, in an almost hyper-realistic style, certain bodily details: from the old woman’s worn hands and weather-marked face, to the dirtiness and neglect that transpire from the boy’s figure. A frank but compassionate look, respectful and without judgment, aimed at restoring full dignity to the subjects depicted.”

A publication published by Silvana Editoriale with texts by Stefano Sorlini, Stefano Lusardi, Francesco Ceretti and Alessia Mazzacani was produced for the occasion.

MarteS Sorlini Art Museum acquires Pietro Bellotti's La Vecchia popolana, rediscovered in private collecting

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