The Brera Art Gallery: the works you can’t miss
Image source: MuseoMilano.it
THE BRERA ART GALLERY: THE WORKS YOU CAN’T MISS AND HOW TO PLAN YOUR VISIT
The Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera Art Gallery) is a great museum which unlike other great Italian art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, didn’t originate from aristocratic collecting.
The works displayed at the Brera Art Gallery don’t come from collections belonging to a Prince or noble families, but is the collection of works used for the education of students attending the Academy of Fine Arts.
In the early 19th century, thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte, it turns into a museum.
The Pinacoteca di Brera is, in my opinion, in the most romantic district of Milan.
It is often stormed by tourists but the charm of the past of this place remains intact and in some moments is still visible the magic that was to have in the nineteenth century, when it was the district preferred by artists.
Of course it is the Pinacoteca di Brera that makes this corner of Milan even more fascinating and since this area of Milan is almost completely pedestrian, I suggest you to reach the museum using public transportation.
HOW TO REACH THE BRERA ART GALLERY
The Brera Art Gallery is located in via Brera 28 in Milan.
By subway: line M2, getting off at the “Lanza” stop; line M3, getting off at the “Montenapoleone” stop, and line M1, getting off at the “Cairoli” stop.
By bus: lines 61 and 57, or tram lines 1-2-12-14 (via Cusani), 4 (Lanza).
By car: you can park your car at “Parking Car Brera” garage, located in via Brera 3/A.
TICKETS
Although in some periods of the year it is not necessary, my advice is always to book tickets for the Pinacoteca di Brera.
In fact, you could happen on a weekend particularly crowded by tourists or on a day when school trips or organized groups are numerous.
Reserve your ticket online.
The Brera Art Gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30 am to 7.15 pm, on Thursdays until 10.15 pm.
Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th.
Full regular tickets € 10, reduced tickets € 7, but after 6 pm € 6.
WHAT TO SEE AT THE BRERA ART GALLERY
The Brera Art Gallery is one of the major museums in Italy, where you can admire some of the greatest masterpieces of history of art.
Everything deserves your attention, and to visit the art gallery you need at least 2 hours, but in this post I’ll make a list of 5 works you can’t miss.
1 – The Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael was painted in 1504, and portrays the marriage between the Virgin Mary and Joseph.
On the background there’s a building resembling the Tempietto (small temple) built in 1502 by Bramante in the centre of one of the courtyards of the Church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome.
2 – The Dead Christ and Three Mourners by Mantegna.
A famous and powerful painting in which Christ’s body is portrayed from an original and unique point of view.
The wounds are presented in the foreground, like the folds of the sheet covering the body.
3 – The Kiss, famous painting which I described in detail in the post dedicated to Francesco Hayez, one of the most important artists of the Romanticism. But at the Brera Art Gallery you can find other works painted by Hayez, and all are capable of moving you.
READ ALSO – Museums in Milan: the house museums to see
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In this blog, I don't explain the history of art — I tell the stories that art itself tells.