Brera Academy

Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
Established	1776
Type	Public
Dean	Franco Marrocco
Students	3,800[1]
Location	Milan, Italy
Campus	Urban
Website	www.accademiadibrera.milano.it

The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the Accademia di Brera or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy.

Overview

The Academy was founded in 1776 by Maria Theresa of Austria with the objective to teach and research within the creative arts and cultural historical disciplines.

Under the current Italian regulations, the Brera Academy issues academic diplomas of first level (equivalent to degree) and academic diplomas of second level (equivalent to master's degree). In 2005 the teaching of the academy has been classified by UNESCO as "A5". It is also regarded as one of the world’s leading academic institutions.

The Academy has about 3,800 students,^[1] including about 1,000 foreign students (mostly postgraduates).^[1] It actively exchanges students and teachers with other European countries through the ERASMUS programme, and since 2006, with countries outside EU such as Japan, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan and Australia.

History

Palazzo Brera entrance: Napoleon Bonaparte, Antonio Canova’s bronze statue.

• 1572: The ownership of the Palazzo Brera, built on the ruins of a convent of the Humiliati, was transferred to the Jesuits. The name "Brera" derives from the German term "braida" (Breite) which indicates a large grassy clearing, referring to the spot where the namesake building that still houses the headquarters of the Academy is located.^[2]
• 1627-1628: The restoration of the building was entrusted to the architect Francesco Maria Richini.^[2]
• 1772: The Society of Jesus was suppressed; the Palazzo Brera received a new institutional framework, including the Brera Astronomical Observatory, the National Braidense Library and the Brera Botanical Garden.^[2]
• 1776: The Brera Academy was founded by Maria Theresa of Austria, with the official mission of "Providing teaching in Fine Arts to craftsmen and private artists, subject to public supervision and public opinion". The project was entrusted to the architect Giuseppe Piermarini and that same year the Academy hosted the first chair of Architecture. Also in 1776, the Brera Art Gallery (Pinacoteca di Brera) was founded for educational purposes. The Brera Art Gallery, a museum of international standing, houses the most important collection in Milan today. It includes, among other masterpieces, works by Giovanni Bellini, Boccioni, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Hayez, Leonardo da Vinci, Mantegna, Modigliani, Picasso, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese.

Piero della Francesca: Pala Brera or Madonna and Child with Saints.

• 1809: The architectural complex of Palazzo Brera was adapted to its new function, following the design of Pietro Gilardoni. The fourteenth-century façade of the Church of Santa Maria di Brera attributed to Giovanni di Balduccio from Pisa, was destroyed. The plan aimed to provide larger spaces to the Academy Schools of Painting and Sculpture and to enlarge the exhibition halls of the galleries above. After demolition, the bas-reliefs and sculptures and fragments of the façade of the portal of the Church were transferred to the Museo d'Arte Antica of the Sforza Castle in Milan, where they are still visible to these days. The works that decorated the inside of the church, made by Bernardino Luini, Bernardo Senale, Bartolomeo Suardi known as Bramantino and Vincenzo Foppa, are now in the Brera Art Gallery and in the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. Other parts of frescoes attributed to Giusto de' Menabuoi, bases of columns, capitals and wall decorations are still visible in the classrooms used by the Design Department of Design and Applied Arts.
• 1859: Following a visit by Napoleon III, the bronze statue Napoleon I as a peacemaker Mars was placed at the center of the Palazzo Brera court, on a marble pedestal designed by Luigi Bisi. The statue was commissioned by Eugène de Beauharnais in 1807, and produced in Rome in the years 1811-1812 from a model by Antonio Canova.

Raphael’s most sophisticated altarpiece: The Wedding of the Virgin.

• 1863: The Archaeological Museum was founded.
• 1891: The School of Architecture was founded.
• 1923: The reform of the Italian schools promoted by Giovanni Gentile after the First World War instituted the "Liceo Artistico" (art high school) in the same premises of the Academy. Adolfo Wildt, Francesco Messina and Marino Marini were nominated heads of the Sculpture Department. Notable students from this period are Lucio Fontana and Fausto Melotti. The Fresco chair was established for Achille Funi.
• 1931: The School of Architecture moved to the Politecnico di Milano.
• 1946: After the Second World War, the Academy continued under the direction of Aldo Carpi, with Guido Ballo as Professor of Art History, Alik Cavaliere and Andrea Cascella (sculpture), Mauro Reggiani, Domenico Cantatore, Pompeo Borra and Domenico Purificato (painting).

General information

Brera has five departments:

• Fashion Design
• Interior Design
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Scenic Design

Since 1997-98, it has included four 'experimental' ones with yearly intake limited to 20 students:

• Sacred Art
• Restoration
• Art Curating
• Multimedia Communication

Admission of foreign citizens

Foreign citizens wishing to enroll as students at the Brera Academy should present their application to the Italian Consulate in their country not later than 15 March of the year in which they intend to begin their studies at Brera. Together with their application they should submit an educational curriculum (complete with relevant diplomas), and an indication of the course of their choice. The consular authorities will verify the equivalence of study titles and will send the translated documentation to the secretariat of the Academy. Upon completion of this procedure, the candidate will be invited to participate in the entry examinations, which consist in a test of artistic ability pertinent to the course chosen, and a test of general cultural awareness. Foreign citizens will also have to pass a written Italian language test.

Heritage

• The Collection of Sculptures and Gypsum Copies
• The Historical Archive
• The Historical Fund
• The Cabinet of Drawings and Prints
• The Picture Gallery
• The Photographic Archives
• The Contemporary Art Library of the Brera Academy

Panorama view of the main court of Brera Academy in Milan, Italy.

Courses and departments

Academics and alumni

Alumni of the academy include the playwright Dario Fo, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature;^[3] and the Futurist painter Carlo Carrà, who also taught at the academy from 1939 to 1952.^[4]

Others who have taught at the Brera include the Venetian painter Francesco Hayez, professor of painting from 1822 to 1880;^[5] and the architect and writer Camillo Boito, who was professor of architecture from 1860 to 1909, and for part of that time also president of the academy^[6] and the painter Giuseppe Amisani.

See also

• List of art schools
• Pinacoteca di Brera
• List of academies of fine art in Italy

References

External links

• Brera Academy official website
• (Italian) MIUR Ministry of Education, University and Research - Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca - Alta Formazione Artistica e Musicale
• (Italian) Brera, disfigured Canova’s statue by Corriere della Sera of October 10, 2006
• (Italian) Graffiti and mutilated statues, degradation of Brera by Corriere della Sera of December 19, 2007
• (Italian) Brera Art Gallery - Pinacoteca di Brera
• (Italian) National Braidense Library - Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense
• (Italian) Lombard Institute of Science and Letters - Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere
• (Italian) Brera Astronomical Observatory and Botanical Garden - Museo Astronomico e Orto Botanico di Brera
• (Italian) Friends of Brera and the Milanese museums - Amici di Brera

Coordinates: 45°28′19.20″N 9°11′16.43″E / 45.4720000°N 9.1878972°E / 45.4720000; 9.1878972