On 12 June - 5.30pm - Sala Bassetti - an extraordinary drawing by Andrea Appiani will be presented to the public, designing one of the putti in the lunette frescoed with the allegory of Justice for the throne room of the Royal Palace in Milan, now in storage at the Villa Carlotta di Como, which was recently acquired by Mic, and became part of the collections of the Drawings and Prints Cabinet of the Pinacoteca di Brera. The drawing of notable quality was passed to the Export Office of the Superintendency of Genoa and its historical-artistic importance was understood and with the then interim Director Francesca Cappelletti and Letizia Lodi, curator also responsible for the Drawings and Prints Cabinet, it was immediately declared the interest of the Braidense Institution in being able to receive the drawing, so intrinsically linked to the history of Milan and part of Andrea Appiani's production for the Royal Palace of Milan, which, in just a year, will have to host the long-awaited exhibition dedicated to artist.
In the masterful use of graphite and in the skill and strength of the quick and sure line, the drawing, in a perfect state of conservation, reveals all the mastery of Appiani as a designer, recognized since the times of his contemporaries. This sheet, one of the most beautiful in Appiani's graphic corpus, combines a broad style with a spirit of idealization inspired by the grace of Correggio, a constant reference for Appiani's painting, with naturalistic impetus and the study of truth.
The head, seen from below, is a preparatory study for the winged putto of
right in the fresco lunette with Justice that Appiani painted in 1808
in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Milan (fig. 1)1. The painter received
the task of frescoing this room in the early months of 1808. By August
the feat was accomplished.
In the vault Appiani frescoed the Apotheosis of Napoleon as the triumphant Jupiter.
The fresco, detached and kept at Villa Carlotta since 1964, was
heavily damaged by the Allied bombings that hit it
Milan during the Second World War.
The drawing was most likely part of the "Folder containing thoughts and studies from life in the frescoes of the other times Throne Room in the 1st. R. Palazzo” inventoried in the same Catalog of paintings, cartoons and drawings of 1818.
In the masterful use of graphite and in the skill and strength of the quick and sure line, the drawing, in a perfect state of conservation, reveals all the mastery of Appiani as a designer, recognized since the times of his contemporaries. This sheet, one of the most beautiful in Appiani's graphic corpus, combines a broad style with a spirit of idealization inspired by the grace of Correggio, a constant reference for Appiani's painting, with naturalistic impetus and the study of truth.
The head, seen from below, is a preparatory study for the winged putto of
right in the fresco lunette with Justice that Appiani painted in 1808
in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Milan (fig. 1)1. The painter received
the task of frescoing this room in the early months of 1808. By August
the feat was accomplished.
In the vault Appiani frescoed the Apotheosis of Napoleon as the triumphant Jupiter.
The fresco, detached and kept at Villa Carlotta since 1964, was
heavily damaged by the Allied bombings that hit it
Milan during the Second World War.
The drawing was most likely part of the "Folder containing thoughts and studies from life in the frescoes of the other times Throne Room in the 1st. R. Palazzo” inventoried in the same Catalog of paintings, cartoons and drawings of 1818.
