Berenson discovered North Italian Renaissance in 1889, when he arrived in Lombardy to admire some paintings by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari. Then, in Milan, he became friends with some members of the Morelli Circle: Jean Paul Richter, who pushed him to read Morelli’s books, and Gustavo Frizzoni, who introduced him to Morelli himself in January 1890. On that occasion, together with Frizzoni, Berenson visited museums and private collections in Milan, and with particular attention Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli’s collection. In the following years he continued to visit Lombardy, from Villa Frizzoni in Bellagio (Lake Como, now a luxury hotel) to Guido Cagnola’s collection in Gazzada (Varese), then he reviewed the churches in Bergamo and mountain valleys. The paper investigates this moment of Berenson’s life and activity as a connoisseur and an art critic on the basis of unpublished notebooks, still preserved at Villa I Tatti, and several annotations in Berenson’s books, in order to point out his Morellian legacy and the ways he took his distance from the “great” master.
Bernard Berenson e «the great Morelli»: dipinti, musei, amici a Milano e in Lombardia, 1891-1913 / Bernard Berenson and “the great Morelli”: paintings, museums, friends in Milan and Lombardy
Gianpaolo Angelini
2024-01-01
Abstract
Berenson discovered North Italian Renaissance in 1889, when he arrived in Lombardy to admire some paintings by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari. Then, in Milan, he became friends with some members of the Morelli Circle: Jean Paul Richter, who pushed him to read Morelli’s books, and Gustavo Frizzoni, who introduced him to Morelli himself in January 1890. On that occasion, together with Frizzoni, Berenson visited museums and private collections in Milan, and with particular attention Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli’s collection. In the following years he continued to visit Lombardy, from Villa Frizzoni in Bellagio (Lake Como, now a luxury hotel) to Guido Cagnola’s collection in Gazzada (Varese), then he reviewed the churches in Bergamo and mountain valleys. The paper investigates this moment of Berenson’s life and activity as a connoisseur and an art critic on the basis of unpublished notebooks, still preserved at Villa I Tatti, and several annotations in Berenson’s books, in order to point out his Morellian legacy and the ways he took his distance from the “great” master.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
