A Passion for Drawing: From Leonardo da Vinci to Keith Haring

The exhibition presents the public with a selection of over sixty masterpieces from the extensive collections of the Cabinet of Drawings. Edited by Alessia Alberti, Simona Maniello e Francesca Mariano, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover one of Italy’s most important civic collections of works on paper, through a fascinating journey spanning five centuries of art history. The collection today comprises over 30,000 works, ranging from Four hundred at Twentieth century, bearing witness to the evolution of drawing as a tool for study, design, experimentation and independent expression.

The exhibition brings together famous works and pieces rarely on display, by Italian and foreign masters of the calibre of Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Andrea Appiani, Gaetano Previati, Umberto Boccioni e Keith Haring. The history of the collection is also traced, which was established in the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to significant private donations from figures such as the sculptor Pompeo Marchesi, the official Antonio Guasconi and the nobleman Gian Giacomo Attendolo Bolognini. The transfer of the collections to Milan, in the prestigious halls of the Sforza Castle, marked a key milestone in the creation of this group. The visual identity and graphic design of the exhibition were developed in collaboration with the Civica School of Art & Message, whilst the school SUPER will be offering dedicated workshops.