100 years of Brera

To mark the association’s centenary Friends of Brera, the Brera Art Gallery presents an extraordinary exhibition of dossiers to celebrate the unbreakable bond between the city of Milan, private collectors and the renowned Braidense Museum. Over the course of a century, the association’s enlightened patronage has made an inestimable contribution to enriching the state’s artistic heritage through donations, strategic acquisitions and campaigns to support restoration work.

The exhibition route winds its way through the palace’s historic rooms, offering visitors the opportunity to admire a select collection of masterpieces that have entered the civic collections thanks to the vital contribution of Milanese patrons. From the works of ancient painting from the Renaissance and Baroque periods right through to the masterpieces of modern art Spanning the 20th century, the exhibition showcases paintings, sculptures and exquisite drawings by the greatest Italian and international masters.

Among the most valuable visual artefacts are the paintings that have been restored and made accessible to the general public once again, alongside archive documents and period photographs that chronicle the association’s origins and development. The exhibition is not merely a celebration of collecting, but a reflection on the civic and cultural value of the protection of artistic heritage, demonstrating how the passion of private individuals can be transformed into a common good for the whole community.