Napoleon's Early Art Thefts in Italy

Napoleon's suppression of the church entailed new waves of confiscations in 1805 and 1811. On these occasions, though, the requisitioning was carried out under more orderly circumstances where the major beneficiaries were the public galleries in France and the Kingdom of Italy, notably the Brera museum in Milan, one of the most important collections in the city still today. The museum hasn’t forgotten to pay tribute to its benefactor either: the first thing one sees when entering the museum courtyard is Canova’s larger than life statue of Napoleon.

The Brera is recognized as one of the most important art collections in the world. Originally the property of a Jesuit order, the Brera became the property of the state in 1773 when Empress Maria Theresa banished the order and turned the Brera into a secular school, teaching subjects such as botany and astronomy. In order to breathe new life into the Duchy and strengthen the Austrian power in Milan, Maria Theresa was of the conviction that there had to be a state-run academy. The Jesuits ran a very prestigious academy and what better way to set up a state-run academy than to convert an already existing academy. In 1776 the Brera Accademia di Belle Arti was opened with the intention of teaching the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture. The founding stones of the Brera collection were laid two years later with the donation of drawings, prints, sculptures and plaster copies for the use of the students.

It was the advent of Napoleonic rule however that transformed the Brera into what it is today. Canova’s statue of Napoleon in the courtyard is proof of Napoleon’s importance. And it is well deserved. Walking through the many rooms of the gallery it is clear that the vast majority of the paintings arrived in the years 1799-1815. Equally obvious is the history hidden behind the spectacular display of religious motifs: the history of suppression of churches.

Room 37 contains two self-portraits of Andrea Appiani and Giuseppe Bossi. These two individuals worked closely together in the early 1800s in order to establish the Brera as a leading institution. Whereas Bossi, a child of the Enlightenment who firmly believed in the civil function of art, spent time renovating the Brera, Appiani, who was appointed in 1802, had the more dubious job of choosing the works of art from the suppressed churches. Appiani was so successful that by 1808 the Brera had to be enlarged to be able to contain the many requisitions. Next to the self-portraits of Appiani and Bossi are self-portraits of Martin Knoller, Giuliano Traballesi and Domenico Aspari, all prominent teachers at the Brera Academy.

In 1809 the new museum opened its doors to the public. By 1815 the museum counted more than 800 works of art thanks to the idea that art should be on display in museums for the benefit of the public. The fall of Napoleon didn’t entail a return of the works of art to their places of origin.

Some of the earliest ‘Napoleonic’ requisitions arrived in the Brera in 1799. In room 34, for example, works taken from the Milanese church Sabti Cosima e Domiano alla Scala are on display. As mentioned earlier, the city authorities decided to demolish the church in order to make room for a new theatre when the theatre in the Palazzo Reale burned down. The work Virgin with a Child with St Joseph, St Zacharias, St Elisabeth and the Infant St John the Baptist and Giuseppe Bottani’s work The Departure of St Paula Romana for the Holy Land were originally from the church and constitute some of the very first paintings acquired by the Brera.

The paintings transferred from the Monti collection in the Bishop’s palace include two paintings by Bonifacio Veronese, the Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery and the Finding of Moses, both in room 14, two by Paris Bordone, the Baptism of Christ and The Virgin Presenting St Dominic to Christ, also in room 14, and one by Filippo Mazzola, Portrait of a Man, in room 20.

The first thing one sees when walking through the gate to the Brera gallery is the monumental bronze statue of Napoleon in the centre of the courtyard. The original result of Sommariva’s commission in 1802 was in fact a marble statue that was completed in 1806 but due to its nudity Napoleon had it locked up in the vaults of the Louvre. The later bronze version, commissioned by Eugene Beauharnais (Bonaparte's nephew), was completed in 1812 and placed in the Brera. With the return of the Austrians though, it was locked up in the cellars of the museum, and only in 1859, in connection with the arrival of Napoleon III, was it put on display.

In line with the heroic Greek tradition, Napoleon is portrayed in the nude leaning slightly forward. In the left hand he holds a shaft, in the other hand he carries the World with the Winged Victory, which is actually a recent copy as the original was stolen in 1978. The military mantle that is falling from his shoulders and the sword symbolise Napoleon’s military prowess.

As a token of gratitude towards Wellington’s great deeds (he defeated Napoleon in 1815), the British nation presented Wellington with the original marble statue that Napoleon had locked up in the vaults of the Louvre, today on display in Apsley House in London.

Location:28, Via Brera. Opening hours: Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun and holidays 9am-12.15pm.