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House Museum Poldi Pezzoli Diary

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One of Milan’s four house museums, the Poldi Pezzoli was a highlight of my two trips to the city I love so much. The variety of art exhibited made this a top attraction for me. The collections include paintings, sculpture, weapons, tapestries, furniture, glass, ceramics, watches, clocks, goldsmiths’ work and jewelry, for instance. Artists whose works are represented  include Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Canaletto, Francesco Hayez and Lucas Cranach the Elder.

I favored the medieval paintings, but each space had something extraordinary to offer. The Golden Room with its 15th century collection enamored me as did the elaborate, superb furnishings of the Dante Room. The Black Room had six masterfully crafted mahogany and walnut doors. The Lombard Room dazzled with north Italian Renaissance paintings.

The collections were amassed during the 19th century by Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli, who had inherited much money. The Austrians exiled Gian Giacomo from Milan for one year after he supported the revolutionaries during a Risorgimento battle in Milan. He spent that year traveling, but then returned to Milan. Sadly, Gian Giacomo’s life was cut short in 1879, when, at the age of 57, he passed away in the palace’s Dante Study. The museum was opened to the public in 1881. During World War Two the palace was severely damaged. For example, the Neo-Gothic armory was destroyed. Many artifacts were lost. The museum underwent much restoration, not opening its doors again until 1951. The new armory opened much later, in 2000.

Numerous artworks enthralled me, but I would like to concentrate on several of the many that were remarkable. Some paintings that caught my undivided attention included Sandra Botticelli’s The Virgin and Child (the Madonna of the Book), dating from 1482-83. Showing the Virgin and Child reading, the painting reminded me of how important reading and literature have been in my life. The scene had a mystical appearance due to the superb lighting. I could understand how the act of reading has a sort of mystical power. The painting also exuded elegance.

Another religious rendition that left me in awe was The Madonna of Humility with Musician Angels by Zanobi Strozzi, hailing from 1448 to 1450. In this painting the Christ Child is seated on the Virgin’s lap as I can almost hear the musicians playing a sorrowful tune. Strozzi masterfully portrayed the texture of the clothing, such as Virgin’s red garment with its green lining and blue mantle. I felt as if I could touch the fabric of the veil on the Virgin’s head as it was also superbly rendered. The background was dominated by a stunning gold material.

My admiration of medieval art in the Poldi Pezzoli continued as I became enthralled with Filippo Lippi’s The Pieta (1440) in which the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist hold up the limp Christ figure who has a gray complexion reminiscent of death. In the distance I saw a mountainous landscape.

Antonio Vivarini and his brother-in-law Giovanni D’Alemagna captivated me with their work, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels. In this painting, perhaps part of a polyptych, the Madonna and Child’s throne is pleasantly situated in a garden, giving off a tranquil vibe. The late Gothic and Renaissance features of the throne, figures and landscape were striking.

A sculpture that particularly caught my attention was labelled The Virgin and Child, a Florentine masterpiece from 1280 with many Byzantine elements. While Jesus’ body parts aren’t all proportional, the two figures are nevertheless masterfully sculpted.

I was also enthusiastic about the tapestries. For instance, I saw the Tapestry with Esther Presented to Ahasuerus, made in Brussels in the late 15th and early 16th century. The stunning fabrics included wool, silk, silver and gold. One of the most significant Flemish tapestries in Italy, the masterful work takes its theme from the Old Testament. I noted the characters’ luxurious costumes, especially the king’s extravagant hat. The variety of colors also caught my attention.

I also admired the Canaletto landscapes of Padua and Venice with all the architectural features of the cities. Looking at Canaletto’s works gave me a sense of Italian history as if I could go back in time and look deep into the painting as a witness of the scene portrayed. I fondly recalled the extensive exhibition of Canaletto’s work I had seen in Aux-en-Provence a number of years ago.

The armory, refurbished in 2000, included many 16th century weapons, such as a Borromeo helmet from the 16th century. Its exquisite gilded decoration was made up of designs of a unicorn and Saint Justine. The Gonzaga Helmet, also from the 16th century, was also gilded and showed off adornment of a crescent moon, leaves and flowers. I loved the meticulousness and precision of the designs.

I admired the many stunning pieces of furniture, including the cabinets. One cabinet from the mid-17th century was made of ebony, bronze, silver and semi-precious stones. The small drawers were exquisitely decorated.

My favorite piece of porcelain was a Meissen called The Tooth-Puller from 1750. The woman looked terrified as the evil man held her jaw in an almost violent manner. The facial expressions of terror and evil were well-crafted. I liked the use of the color purple in the designs: the wig-clad tooth-puller was dressed in purple, and the woman wore a purple jacket. Her white skirt was decorated with a purple floral design. The collection included over 80 European porcelain pieces from the 18th century.

I also admired the decorations on the watches hailing from the 16th to 18th centuries and the various designs of the many clocks and sundials. The jewelry and Murano glassware also captured my undivided attention.

This museum housed such a wide array of stunning artifacts in an intimate setting. I loved the house museums in Milan, and visiting the Poldi Pezzoli was certainly one of my most treasured memories of the Italian city that I hold so dear to my heart.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Mucha: The Family Collection Exhibition Diary

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I have been a fan of Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau works ever since I came to Prague in the 1990s. While he is best known for his exhilarating posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha was a very versatile artist – as is evidenced in this comprehensive exhibition of creations owned by his descendants. The first extensive showing of his works in 30 years is housed at Prague’s Waldstein Palace. The exhibition highlights not only the advertising posters but also his drawings, paintings, sculptures, photos and jewelry, for instance. The family displays some originals to the public for the first time.  

Family portraits evoking Mucha’s childhood add an intimate feel to the exhibition. Born in Ivančice, Moravia, Mucha called home a building that also included the town jail. The Czech lands were under Austrian rule when Mucha grew up. They were part of the Habsburg Empire in which German was the official language. Yet, during that era, the Czech National Revival took place, when Czech nationalists promoted Czech culture and the Czech language.

At the end of 1894, Mucha became a star overnight when he designed a poster for Bernhardt’s production of Gismonda. The following year he created posters that decorated calendars, postcards and menus as well as theatre programs. His work would find enthusiastic audiences in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Munich, London, New York and other cities during subsequent years.

I loved how, in his advertising posters, Mucha utilized folk features not only found in Czech art but also in Byzantine, Islamic, Japanese, Gothic, Judaic, Celtic and Rococo works. Much of this genre focuses on beautiful, young women with an optimistic and cheerful flair. They are wearing flowing robes in pastel colors. I loved the touches of floral and plant ornamentation plus arabesques and naturalistic elements, too.

The exhibition boasted family portraits and photos, such as those of his friends Paul Gaugin and Auguste Rodin. Gaugin even was Mucha’s housemate for a while. During the Paris Exposition Universalle of 1900, Mucha represented Austria-Hungary as the show focused on the accomplishments of the past century. I had not known that in 1899 Mucha had designed a jewelry collection that was featured at this major show. One of the jewelry pieces on display at the exhibition features a snake-shaped broach that Bernhardt wore during her portrayal as Medusa. I also was captivated by Mucha’s decorations for a German theatre in the USA. He would wind up making three trips to the United States, hailed by The New York Daily News as “the world’s greatest decorative artist.”

Works in the exhibition illustrated how mysticism had influenced him. His philosophy is also apparent in his creations. For example, he believed in beauty, truth and love to guide him on the spiritual path. For a monument he created a triptych called The Age of Reason, the Age of Wisdom and the Age of Love, fusing these three characteristics into one piece of art. Unfortunately, Mucha didn’t get the chance to finish it.

Perhaps what always captivates me the most about Mucha’s art is his emphasis on Slav identity. Indeed, his phenomenal Slav Epic paintings feature the heroic tales of the Slavs in 20 historical, symbolic canvases. Several reproductions of these works at the exhibition reinforced Mucha’s identity as a Czech and Slav patriot.

I saw panels devoted to Mucha’s decorations in the Municipal House, for which he designed numerous pieces – three wall panels, a ceiling painting depicting prominent Czech personalities, eight pendentives and furnishings. I remember seeing these for myself on tours of the Art Nouveau Municipal House, something I recommend to every Prague visitor. It is notable that, while Mucha’s works often were rooted in Slav identity in the past, he also looked to the future for a prosperous Czech nation.

I was enamored by the reproductions of his stained-glass window designs. The originals decorate the interior of Saint Vitus’ Cathedral at Prague Castle. In 1931 he portrayed Saint Wenceslas, the nation’s patron saint, as a child with his grandmother Saint Ludmila in a central panel along with other panels featuring the lives and work of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Seeing examples of his colorful and vibrant stained glass renditions close-up was for me one of the highlights of this exhibition.

Mucha’s life was cut short by the arrival of the Nazis in Prague, where they set up the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during March of 1939. The 79-year-old Mucha, riddled with health problems, was targeted by the Gestapo. Mucha was a Freemason, Judeophile and a promoter of democratic Czechoslovakia. He was one of the first to be interrogated by the Nazis. Mucha was stricken with pneumonia due to the strain from grueling interrogations and died in Prague 10 days short of his 79th birthday on July 14th, 1939. He is now buried in Prague’s Vyšehrad Cemetery along with other prominent Czechs.

This exhibition takes museumgoers on a unique and unforgettable journey from his childhood roots in Moravia to his time as an outsider in Paris to his experiences in the democratic Czechoslovakia until his untimely death. It stresses his identity as a Moravian, as a Czech, as a Slav and as a European. It shows his accomplishments in the art scene by displaying an eclectic collection of his creations that profoundly punctuated the artistic world.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.