Date
1801-1802
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Historical allegory
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
About The Work
Believed to have been lost during the Second World War, the painting was rediscovered in 1995 in the Brera Academy's storage rooms. It was later restored, returning it to its original splendour
The piece is central to the history of Neoclassical painting and reflects the promotion of the arts in Milan in the Napoleonic era, following the Battle of Marengo. In this context, on 3 April 1801, Il Redattore Cisalpino published a call to artists for a painting representing the Republic's gratitude towards Napoleon, celebrated as "a model of valour and wisdom that Greece and the Roman Republic could envy in our age".
In May 1802, all entries to the competition were exhibited at the Brera Academy. The painting by Giuseppe Bossi, secretary of the Academy, won first prize, impressing the audience with the originality of its iconography. The figure of the Italian Republic is depicted in all its majesty alongside that of Napoleon, who is dressed in a purple cloak and crowned with a triumphal laurel wreath. He is offering her a branch of olive mixed with oak, which are well-known symbols of peace and solidity. Drawing inspiration from Roman medals and the image transmitted through Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, the turreted woman grasping the Constitution can be regarded as the inaugural modern depiction of Italy. This conception of Italy transcends its traditional association with the homeland of letters and the arts, embracing its role as a significant political entity with a vision directed towards the future.
The piece is central to the history of Neoclassical painting and reflects the promotion of the arts in Milan in the Napoleonic era, following the Battle of Marengo. In this context, on 3 April 1801, Il Redattore Cisalpino published a call to artists for a painting representing the Republic's gratitude towards Napoleon, celebrated as "a model of valour and wisdom that Greece and the Roman Republic could envy in our age".
In May 1802, all entries to the competition were exhibited at the Brera Academy. The painting by Giuseppe Bossi, secretary of the Academy, won first prize, impressing the audience with the originality of its iconography. The figure of the Italian Republic is depicted in all its majesty alongside that of Napoleon, who is dressed in a purple cloak and crowned with a triumphal laurel wreath. He is offering her a branch of olive mixed with oak, which are well-known symbols of peace and solidity. Drawing inspiration from Roman medals and the image transmitted through Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, the turreted woman grasping the Constitution can be regarded as the inaugural modern depiction of Italy. This conception of Italy transcends its traditional association with the homeland of letters and the arts, embracing its role as a significant political entity with a vision directed towards the future.
Title
La Riconoscenza della Repubblica Italiana a Napoleone
Creator
Giuseppe Bossi
Subject
Historical allegory
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Competitions and artistic fellowships, 1802
Date
1801-1802
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Visual analysis of the technique
The simplification of the image, achieved through linear abstraction of volumes, reduction of chiaroscuro and saturation of colours, is characteristic of painters known as Barbus o Primitifs, whose work Bossi may have seen during his visit to Paris in 1802, after attending the Comizi di Lione.
Dimensions
cm 304 x 436
Acquisition
Acquired from Giuseppe Bossi, as established by the rules of the competition announced by the Cisalpine Republic on the theme "La Riconoscenza della Repubblica Cisalpina a Napoleone", 1802
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
Inventory number
Collezione dell'Accademia di Brera
Bibliography
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 26. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Addenda e apparati generali, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1996. 49–53 (with previous bibliography).
Mazzocca, Fernando. “La Riconoscenza di Giuseppe Bossi. Identificazione di un capolavoro della pittura ‘rivoluzionaria’.” In Milano, Brera e Giuseppe Bossi nella Repubblica Cisalpina, proceedings of the study meeting (Milano, Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, 4–5 February 1997). Milano: Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, 1999. 63–96.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 275. In Napoleone e la Repubblica Italiana (1802–1805), exhibition catalogue (Milano, Rotonda di Via Besana, 11 November 2002–28 February 2003), edited by Carlo Capra, Franco Della Peruta, and F. Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2002. 210–211, ill. 152 (work not exhibited). Napoleone e l'Accademia, virtual exhibition, edited by Anna Mariani, Chiara Nenci, Sophia Radici, and Sara Rizzi, 2021 (napoleoneelaccademia.it).
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. II.1. In Eterno e visione. Roma e Milano capitali nel Neoclassicismo, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Gallerie d’Italia, 28 November 2025–6 April 2026), edited by Francesco Leone, Elena Lissoni, and Fernando Mazzocca. Torino: Allemandi, 2025. 83–84, ill. 72–73 (work not exhibited).
Mazzocca, Fernando. “La Riconoscenza di Giuseppe Bossi. Identificazione di un capolavoro della pittura ‘rivoluzionaria’.” In Milano, Brera e Giuseppe Bossi nella Repubblica Cisalpina, proceedings of the study meeting (Milano, Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, 4–5 February 1997). Milano: Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, 1999. 63–96.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 275. In Napoleone e la Repubblica Italiana (1802–1805), exhibition catalogue (Milano, Rotonda di Via Besana, 11 November 2002–28 February 2003), edited by Carlo Capra, Franco Della Peruta, and F. Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2002. 210–211, ill. 152 (work not exhibited). Napoleone e l'Accademia, virtual exhibition, edited by Anna Mariani, Chiara Nenci, Sophia Radici, and Sara Rizzi, 2021 (napoleoneelaccademia.it).
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. II.1. In Eterno e visione. Roma e Milano capitali nel Neoclassicismo, exhibition catalogue (Milano, Gallerie d’Italia, 28 November 2025–6 April 2026), edited by Francesco Leone, Elena Lissoni, and Fernando Mazzocca. Torino: Allemandi, 2025. 83–84, ill. 72–73 (work not exhibited).
Conservation status
Good
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in 1996 by Anna Lucchini, Studio di Restauro
Type of intervention
Preliminary documentation; surface cleaning; paint film consolidation; removal of altered varnish; filling of losses; paint restoration; final varnishing.
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: Anna Lucchini
Type of intervention
Preliminary documentation; surface cleaning; paint film consolidation; removal of altered varnish; filling of losses; paint restoration; final varnishing.
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: Anna Lucchini
Frame, base, secondary support
Modern frame
Unique identifier
0300663399