TOSIO MARTINENGO ART GALLERY

Palazzo Martinengo da Barco, the historical seat of the Pinacoteca, reveals thanks to the recent restoration the sumptuous beauty of its rooms, the result of a long history that has its roots in the 16th century and reaches as far as the renovation of the late 19th century, designed by architect Antonio Tagliaferri. Within a modern layout inaugurated in 2018 and recently enriched, the civic collections are on display, formed from the generous bequest of Count Paolo Tosio (1844) and expanded over time through numerous acquisitions. The tour, organised chronologically, starts in the 14th century and places paintings alongside admirable works of decorative art, including gold, enamels, majolica and bronzes. Through such renowned examples as Raphael's Angel and the Redeemer and Lorenzo Lotto's Adoration of the Shepherds, we reach the heart of the collection, consisting of Brescian Renaissance painting, with paintings by Vincenzo Foppa, Romanino, Savoldo and Moretto. A peculiar attention to reality is manifested here, which then reaches the very human season of Giacomo Ceruti's 'pitocchi'. After a stunning room dedicated to the Murano glass collection from the 15th-18th centuries, the story concludes with the great commissions of Brescian collectors from the Neoclassical and Romantic periods, including Angelica Kauffmann, Andrea Appiani, Berthel Thorvaldsen, Antonio Canova and Francesco Hayez. Amidst double basses, monumental ivory sculptural groups, Greek amphorae, Caravaggesque painters and suits of armour, the museum recounts not only the lively local artistic production, but also and above all the taste of Brescian collectors who, over time, enriched the city's public collections.