The Gazzola Institute is a school of the arts and art museum, located on via Gazzola n°9 in the town of Piacenza, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.

History

When Count Felice Gazola or Gazzola, Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army, Commander and Coronel of artillery, and Commendatore of the Order of Calatrava died in 1780, his will left money to native Piacenza to: ''maintain and dress six youths working in decorative or figure painting, wood or marble sculpture, architecture, surveying, art of jewel making... and if Piacenza lacked persons able to teach painting, sculpture, and architecture, the youths would be sent to either Parma or Bologna''. He named as administrators of this institute the heads of eight prominent local families: another Conti Gazola, Grassi da Fareneto, Conti Leoni, Caraccioli, Rocca, Cassola, Portapudia, and the Counselor Antonio Francesco Maggi. These individuals decided to form a more stable institute in 1781, housed in Felice Gazzola's palace and consisting of a school of figure painting and a school of architecture, ornamentation, and perspective ( quadratura). A school of ''Del nudo'' was later added, expanded in 1834 with schools of practical arithmetics and Geometry descriptive and linear design. They allowed for students to study in Rome. One of the first professors was

Carlo Maria Viganoni Carlo Maria Viganoni (28 January 1786, in Piacenza – 8 November 1839) was an Italian painter, active in the Neoclassic style. Biography At the age of 20, Viganoni began studies under Giuseppe Gherardi at the Istituto Gazzola in Piace ...

, then

Giuseppe Gherardi Giuseppe Gherardi ( Piacenza, 1756 - Piacenza, 7 November 1828) was an Italian painter, active in the Neoclassic style. Biography He painted a ''San Disma'' for the church of the Santa Maria in Torricella in Piacenza, a canvas that stood alongs ...

, then

Lorenzo Toncini Lorenzo Toncini (Caorso, ( Province of Piacenza), August 10, 1802 - Piacenza, 1884) was an Italian painter. Biography He became first a pupil of Giuseppe Gherardi at the Istituto Gazzola of Fine Arts of Piacenza; as a young man move to Rome. ...

. Viganoni donated his collection of stucco models of classic statuary. Among its early pupils were Innocente Micliavacca (engraver),

Gaetano Monti Gaetano Monti (c. 1750 – 1824) was an Italian sculptor, active in Milan. Little is known about his career; he was, for a time, active as a teacher of anatomy at the Ospedale Maggiore, where he numbered among his pupils Andrea Appiani and Gaeta ...

(painter); Davide Testi (engraver); Valerio Rivetti (sculptor), Lorenzo Toncini, Quaglia a manuscript illuminator, and Aspetti, a painter. The Institute is still localized in the medieval Palace once belonging to the Fontana family, then later to the monastery of

San Sisto Saint Sixtus (or San Sisto in Italian) may refer to the following: People *Pope Sixtus I (d. 128) *Pope Sixtus II (d. 258), martyr *Pope Sixtus III (d. 440) *Sixtus of Reims (d.c. 300), first bishop of Reims Places Italy *San Sisto, Piacenza, chu ...

, until the Count Giovanni Angelo Gazzola obtained it in 1699. The palace held the Museo Civico of Piacenza from 1903 to 1975, when the museum was moved to the Palazzo Farnese of Piacenza. In 1838 the Institute was endowed with 42 works owned by the Doctor Cesare Martelli, that formed the core of its collections. The collection of armory is now in the Palazzo Farnese. Many works of art are still displayed at the Institute Pinacoteca including:Istituto Gazzola Pinacoteca
with images. *''Circumcision'' attributed to Gian Nicola Manni *''Nativity'' by

Bonifacio de' Pitati Bonifacio Veronese, birth name: Bonifacio de' PitatiAlso known as Bonifazio Veneziano (1487 – 19 October 1553) was an Italian Renaissance painter who was active in the Venetian Republic. His work had an important influence on the younger ge ...

*''St George and the Dragon'' by a school of Albrecht Altdorfer *''Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth'' by

Antonio Campi Antonio Campi (c. 1522 – 1587) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He was born in Cremona. His style merges Lombard with Mannerist styles. In Cremona, his extended family was the foundation of the Cremonese school of painting. Gi ...

*''Garden Feast'' attributed to Hieronymus Janssens (il Ballerino) *''St John the Evangelist and Madonna'' (1684) by Domenico Piola *''Flagellation of Christ'' by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli (il Morazone) *''Martyrdom of San Donnino'' by Gian Mauro della Rovere (il Fiammingo) *''Portrait of Titian'' by

Pietro Muttoni Pietro della Vecchia, Pietro della Vècchia or Pietro Vècchia, formerly incorrectly called Pietro MuttoniBernard Aikema. "Vecchia, Pietro della."Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 5 March 2018 (Vicenza, 1603 &nda ...

*''Jesus and the Centurion'' by Mattia Preti *''Il Gregge sull'Appenino'' by

Stefano Bruzzi Stefano Bruzzi (1 May 1835 – 1911) was an Italian painter, mainly of landscapes, with children and animals, in a style that recalls Filippo Palizzi. Life Born in Emilia, he initially studied in Piacenza under professor Bernardino Massari. At ...

*''Flaying of Marysias'' by

Ignazio Stern Ignazio Stern (or Ignaz Stern) (January 17, 1679 – May 28, 1748), born in Mauerkirchen in Austria, was a Baroque painter who worked in Rome, dying there in 1748. Biography He was a pupil of Carlo Cignani in Bologna, and worked in Lombardy, th ...

*''Old woman'' by

Michael Sweerts Michiel Sweerts or Michael Sweerts (29 September 1618 – 1 June 1664) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter and printmaker of the Baroque period, who is known for his allegorical and genre paintings, portraits and tronies. The artist led a ...

*''Adam and Eve'' by

*''Hector reproves Paris'', ''Hector and Andromache'' and ''Lucretia'' by Gaspare Landi *''Supper at Emmaus'' by

Luigi Musi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

*''Game'' (still life) (1708) by Giuseppe Maria Crespi *''Holy Family'' (1639) by

Luigi Miradori Luigi Miradori (c. 1600-1610 - c. 1656) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Cremona. Miradori was born in Genoa, thus also called ''il Genovese'' or ''Genovesino''. He was a pupil of the painter Panfilo Nuvolone or ...

*''Flower'' (still life) by Margherita Caffi *''Adoration of the Shepherds'' (before 1680) by

Bartolomeo Guidobono Bartolomeo Guidobono (1654–1709) was an Italian painter known for his scenes with angelic looking figures bathing in soft lighting, which show the influence of Correggio. His elegant and graceful style was very popular in Genoa.M. Newcome. "Gui ...

*''Portrait of his Mother'' by

Francesco Ghittoni Francesco Ghittoni (1855–1928) was an Italian painter, mainly of Genre painting, genre paintings of the life of rural workers, but also portraits, sacred subjects, and, late in life, landscapes. His early paintings were in a Realism (arts), Reali ...

*''Interior Hall of the Academy of Piacenza with models and students'' (1830-1839)

*''Yatagan'' sword 1850 by Froment Meurice

References

{{authority control Art museums and galleries in Emilia-Romagna Buildings and structures in Piacenza Museums in Piacenza Art schools in Italy Educational institutions established in 1781 1781 establishments in Italy