The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the Academy of Fine Arts. The museum offers a wide collection of Emilian

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

s from the 13th to the 18th century and other fundamental works by artists who were in some way related to the city.

History

Accademia Clementina

According to 18th-century Italian art historian

Luigi Crespi Luigi Crespi (January 23, 1708 – July 2, 1779) was an Italian painter, and art merchant and historian. He was the son of the prominent Bolognese painter, Giuseppe Maria Crespi. Biography He trained with his father and completed a few altarpiec ...

, it was cardinal Prospero Lambertini, who would later become

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

, the one who planned a Gallery for altarpieces in the churches of the city. The gallery's first nucleus of works came from the acquisition in 1762 by monsignor Francesco Zambeccari of eight early 15th-century altarpieces, salvaged from the demolition of Saint Mary Magdalene's church. Bought for the Istituto delle Scienze, the art pieces were to be preserved by the

Accademia Clementina The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna ("academy of fine arts of Bologna") is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It has a campus in Cesena. Giorgio Morandi taught engraving at the Accademi ...

, the Institute's artistic section. In 1776 a dozen of 13th-century altarpieces and Byzantine icons, which came from Urbano Savorgnan's legacy and formerly located at the Saint Philip Neri's Oratory, were also bought for the Accademia. Another Bolognese conservation pole was the Appartamento del Gonfaloniere at the

Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (''town hall'') is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected off ...

. From the late 16th century onwards, the Appartamento had been housing paintings from artists such as

Vitale da Bologna 250px, ''St. George and the Dragon'' Vitale da Bologna (–1360), also known as Vitale di Aymo de' Cavalli or Vitale degli Equi, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He is a representative of the 14th century school of painting ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

('' The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia''), Cima da Conegliano ('' Madonna and Child''), Lorenzo Costa, Francesco Francia,

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. E ...

(''

Madonna in Glory with Saints The ''Madonna in Glory with Saints'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino, dating to c. 1500–1501. It is housed in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna, Italy. It was originally located in the Scarani Chapel of the ...

'') and

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of t ...

, alongside works like the '' Pala del Voto'' by

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religi ...

, preserved there for their high civic significance (another painting by Reni in the museum is the '' Massacre of the Innocents'', 1611.

Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts

In 1796, with the fall the Pope's regime and the new republican laws, which suppressed many convents and all the guilds, and shut down the old regime's head offices, the Bolognese senate decided to merge the suppressed churches' and convents' paintings and Accademia delle Scienze's holdings into one single collection, gathering almost one thousand works, organized first at the former Convent of Saint Vitalis, then in 1802 at the former Jesuit novitiate of Saint Ignatius in the Borgo della Paglia, now called via delle Belle Arti 56, made by

Alfonso Torreggiani Alfonso Torreggiani (1682–1764) was an Italian architect of the Rococo period, principally associated with Bologna. Life Torregiani was born in Budrio. An apprentice of Giuseppe Antonio Torri, he became intensely active in the city of B ...

in 1726 to house the newly created gallery of National Academy of Fine Arts.

19th and 20th centuries

With the fall the Napoleonic empire in 1815, many works seized by the French were returned from the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

to the city. The first enlargement of the collection, carried out by Leandro Marcon dates back to this time. In 1826

Gaetano Giordani Gaetano (anglicized ''Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval p ...

made the first catalog. The collection was enlarged again in 1844, when the museum now added the convent's chapel, which had ceiling frescoes depicting the ''Apotheosis of St Ignatius of Loyola''. Between 1867 and 1868, many paintings coming from further suppressions were added. In 1875, the pinacoteca was opened regularly for the public, in 1882 the Gallery became autonomous and, in 1884 Zambeccari Collection was acquired. In the first years of the 20th century another wing was built under the supervision of

Edoardo Collamarini Edoardo Collamarini (1863–1928) was an Italian architect, active mainly in Bologna, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. He was born and died in Bologna. He studied there and in Parma. He was friend of Giosuè Carducci, and pupil of Alfonso Rubbian ...

. In the late sixties the, under supervisor Cesare Gnudi and based on Leone Pancaldi's project, the ''Salone del Rinascimento'' was created to host the frescoes brought from the Sant'Apollonia di Mezzaratta church. In 1997 the Gallery was completely renovated to comply the European standards, and it is one of the best known Italian art galleries, internationally known and appreciated for its space dedicated exclusively to temporary exhibitions and for its educational activities.

Gallery

Image:Saint Cecilia by Raphael.jpg, '' The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia'', c. 1518 by Raphael. Image:El Greco 10.jpg, ''The Last Supper'', c. 1568 by El Greco. Image:Parmigianino, madonna di santa margherita 01.jpg, ''Madonna di Santa Margherita'', c. 1520-1530 by Parmigianino. Image:Jacopo Tintoretto - The Visitation (detail) - WGA22432.jpg, ''The Visitation'',c. 1549 by Tintoretto Image:Titian - Christ and the Good Thief - WGA22832.jpg, ''Christ and the Good Thief'', c. 1566 by Titian. Image:Giotto. Polyptych. 1330-35. 91x340cm. Pinacoteca, Bologna..jpg, ''Bologna Polyptych'', c. 1330 by Giotto.

Sources

*G.P. Cammarota, ''La formazione della Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'', Bologna, volume I 1997, volume III 2000, volume II 2004. *A. Emiliani, ''La Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'', Milano, 1997.

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Museums in Bologna Art museums and galleries in Bologna Tourist attractions in Bologna Art museums established in 1796 1796 establishments in Italy National museums of Italy