Date
1844-1845
Object Type
Painting
Subject
The Meeting between Dante and Fra Ilario (c. 1315)
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 2019
About The Work
In 1845, the theme chosen for the Grande Concorso di Pittura competition at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts — traditionally reserved for subjects from Greek and Roman history — was an episode from the life of Dante Alighieri. The subject of the competition was the moment when Dante, having arrived at the monastery of Corvo in Lunigiana following his troubled exile, presented the prior, Friar Ilario, with a manuscript containing part of the Divine Comedy.
The winning work was by the very young Giuseppe Bertini, who was just nineteen years old. He was already working independently of the teachings of his great master Francesco Hayez, with whom he would become a colleague in 1860 when he became a professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Art.
The careful study of the principal medieval monuments and, above all, of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, demonstrating the debutant’s diligence in researching the nation’s monuments, which were taking on profound civic significance precisely in those years. But – as Lucia Pini observed – the true ‘emotional fulcrum of the scene’ remains the ‘figure of the great Italian exile, proud and upright in his resplendent robes’.
A few years later, Bertini returned to Dante's figure in a more ambitious and monumental form with a stained-glass window dedicated to the Trionfo di Dante. Presented at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London and subsequently reproduced for Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli’s Dante Cabinet in Milan, the work offers a highly emblematic interpretation of the poet. Although Dante is depicted as vanquished, he is not defeated; his image is elevated to that of a moral exemplar. Contemporary observers interpreted the work as a visual response to the political and emotional climate of the time. It presented an image of dignity and resilience for Milan following the failure of the Five Days' Uprising (1848), and it also resonated with the experiences of Italian political exiles in England. By depicting Dante's suffering and steadfastness, Bertini transformed medieval exile into a modern allegory of endurance and emerging national consciousness.
The winning work was by the very young Giuseppe Bertini, who was just nineteen years old. He was already working independently of the teachings of his great master Francesco Hayez, with whom he would become a colleague in 1860 when he became a professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Art.
The careful study of the principal medieval monuments and, above all, of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, demonstrating the debutant’s diligence in researching the nation’s monuments, which were taking on profound civic significance precisely in those years. But – as Lucia Pini observed – the true ‘emotional fulcrum of the scene’ remains the ‘figure of the great Italian exile, proud and upright in his resplendent robes’.
A few years later, Bertini returned to Dante's figure in a more ambitious and monumental form with a stained-glass window dedicated to the Trionfo di Dante. Presented at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London and subsequently reproduced for Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli’s Dante Cabinet in Milan, the work offers a highly emblematic interpretation of the poet. Although Dante is depicted as vanquished, he is not defeated; his image is elevated to that of a moral exemplar. Contemporary observers interpreted the work as a visual response to the political and emotional climate of the time. It presented an image of dignity and resilience for Milan following the failure of the Five Days' Uprising (1848), and it also resonated with the experiences of Italian political exiles in England. By depicting Dante's suffering and steadfastness, Bertini transformed medieval exile into a modern allegory of endurance and emerging national consciousness.
Title
L'incontro di Dante con frate Ilario
Creator
Giuseppe Bertini
Subject
The Meeting between Dante and Fra Ilario (c. 1315)
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Competitions and artistic fellowships (Grande Concorso di Pittura, 1845)
Date
1844-1845
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
cm 162 x 227
Acquisition
Acquired as the winning piece of the Grande Concorso di Pittura competition in 1845
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 2019
Inventory number
Reg. 1947, 25
Bibliography
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. In L’Ottocento di Andrea Maffei, exhibition catalogue (Riva del Garda, Trento, Museo Civico, 21 June – 30 August 1987), edited by M. Botteri, B. Cinelli, and F. Mazzocca. Riva del Garda (Trento): Museo Civico, 1987. 216–217, ill.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 89. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 92–93, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Pini, Lucia. Entry no. 8. In Dall’Accademia all'atelier: pittori tra Brera e il Canton Ticino nell'Ottocento, exhibition catalogue (Rancate, Pinacoteca Cantonale Giovanni Züst, 14 September – 26 November 2000), edited by Maria Angela Previtera and Sergio Rebora. Milano: Electa, 2000. 78, ill. p. 79.
Nenci, Chiara. Entry no. IV.7. In Romantici e Macchiaioli. Giuseppe Mazzini e la grande pittura europea, exhibition catalogue (Genova, Palazzo Ducale, 21 October 2005 – 12 February 2006), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2005. 253–254, ill. p. 119.
Pini, Lucia. Entry no. 20. In Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli l’uomo e il collezionista del Risorgimento, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, 12 November 2011 – 13 February 2012), edited by Lavinia Galli Michero and Fernando Mazzocca. Torino: Umberto Allemandi & Co., 2011. 132–133.
Rebora, Sergio. Entry no. 161. In Romanticismo, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Gallerie d’Italia, 26 October 2018 – 17 March 2019), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale, 2018. 348–349, ill. p. 256.
Lissoni, Elena. Entry no. 74. In Dante. La visione dell’arte, exhibition catalogue (Forlì, Musei San Domenico, 30 April - 11 July 2021), edited by Gianfranco Brunelli, Fernando Mazzocca, Antonio Paolucci, Eike D. Schmidt. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale 2021. 440, 251 ill.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 89. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 92–93, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Pini, Lucia. Entry no. 8. In Dall’Accademia all'atelier: pittori tra Brera e il Canton Ticino nell'Ottocento, exhibition catalogue (Rancate, Pinacoteca Cantonale Giovanni Züst, 14 September – 26 November 2000), edited by Maria Angela Previtera and Sergio Rebora. Milano: Electa, 2000. 78, ill. p. 79.
Nenci, Chiara. Entry no. IV.7. In Romantici e Macchiaioli. Giuseppe Mazzini e la grande pittura europea, exhibition catalogue (Genova, Palazzo Ducale, 21 October 2005 – 12 February 2006), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2005. 253–254, ill. p. 119.
Pini, Lucia. Entry no. 20. In Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli l’uomo e il collezionista del Risorgimento, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, 12 November 2011 – 13 February 2012), edited by Lavinia Galli Michero and Fernando Mazzocca. Torino: Umberto Allemandi & Co., 2011. 132–133.
Rebora, Sergio. Entry no. 161. In Romanticismo, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Gallerie d’Italia, 26 October 2018 – 17 March 2019), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale, 2018. 348–349, ill. p. 256.
Lissoni, Elena. Entry no. 74. In Dante. La visione dell’arte, exhibition catalogue (Forlì, Musei San Domenico, 30 April - 11 July 2021), edited by Gianfranco Brunelli, Fernando Mazzocca, Antonio Paolucci, Eike D. Schmidt. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana Editoriale 2021. 440, 251 ill.
Conservation status
Fair
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in 2000 by Feriani Studio di Restauro,
Milano
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Carlotta Beccaria
Milano
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Carlotta Beccaria
Unique identifier
0300663478