Date
1858
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Jan Hus in Prison (1415)
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan and on display at the Galleria d'Arte moderna in Milan, since 1902
About The Work
A student in Frankfurt under Eduard von Steinle and a close friend of Frederic Leighton, Enrico Gamba achieved significant success at the Turin Promotrice exhibitions during the 1850s. This success culminated in 1856 with I Funerali di Tiziano (1855, Torino, GAM – Galleria d’Arte moderna), a painting that earned the praise of King Victor Emmanuel II and secured Gamba a drawing professorship at the Albertina Academy in Turin. In 1858, he debuted The Bohemian Reformer and Theologian John Huss in Prison, Preaching to his Jailers at the Brera Exhibition. In this work, Huss dominates the scene as an ascetic figure in dark robes, reclining on a meager bed with his right hand resting on the Bible, surrounded by the absolute silence of his captors. Excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1411 and burned at the stake at the Council of Constance, the Bohemian reformer was seen not only as a forerunner of the Reformation but also as a symbol of Bohemian nationalist aspirations. For these reasons, the painting sparked intense controversy: while some viewed it strictly as an anti-papal statement, others gave it a patriotic and nationalist interpretation that was highly topical in 1858, the year of the Plombières Agreement and the eve of the Second Italian War of Independence. This latter meaning led to its purchase by Filippo Ala Ponzone, a dedicated Mazzinian involved in the Risorgimento struggle, who bequeathed it to the Brera Academy along with his collection in 1885. The meticulous setting of the scene, the flawless draftsmanship, and the controlled yet intense color palette make this painting a clear tribute to the contemporary work of French artist Paul Delaroche, the master of a renewed style of history painting that was simple, truthful, and backed by rigorous research into costume, historical setting, and anatomy.
Title
Giovanni Huss in carcere
Creator
Enrico Gamba
Subject
Jan Hus in Prison (1415)
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Collection
Date
1858
Inscriptions
Signed and dated lower left: "E. Gamba 1858"
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
cm 209 x 279
Acquisition
Bequest Filippo Ala Ponzone, 1885
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan and on display at the Galleria d'Arte moderna in Milan, since 1902
Inventory number
Reg. 1943, 33
Bibliography
Lamberti, Maria Mimita. Entry no. 763. In Cultura figurativa e architettonica negli stati del Re di Sardegna 1773 - 1861, exhibition catalogue (Torino, Palazzo Reale, Museo Civico d’Arte Antica e Palazzo Madama, Società Promotrice di Belle Arti, May - July 1980), vol. 1, edited by Enrico Castelnuovo and Marco Rosci. Torino: Stamp. Artistica Nazionale, 1980. 692, ill.
Casassa, Antonella. Entry no. 313. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 284 -285, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Villari, Anna. Entry no. 6. In La Galleria d’Arte Moderna e la Villa Reale di Milano. Edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale, 2007.145.
Regonelli, Silvia. Entry no. 106. In Galleria d’Arte Moderna Milano. Le collezioni, edited by Alessandro Oldani and Paola Zatti. Roma: Officina libraria, 2017. 140–141, ill.
Casassa, Antonella. Entry no. 313. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 284 -285, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Villari, Anna. Entry no. 6. In La Galleria d’Arte Moderna e la Villa Reale di Milano. Edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale, 2007.145.
Regonelli, Silvia. Entry no. 106. In Galleria d’Arte Moderna Milano. Le collezioni, edited by Alessandro Oldani and Paola Zatti. Roma: Officina libraria, 2017. 140–141, ill.
Conservation status
Fair
Unique identifier
0302201012