During the French Revolutionary Wars art thefts were an integral part of the French authorities' policy towards conquered territories. This guide tracks down the churches, museums and collections raided by Napoleon during the Italian Campaign 1796 - 1797.

Background

At war with most of its neighbours, revolutionary France gave command of the Italian front to a 26-year-old inexperienced commander: Napoleon Bonaparte. In what turned out to be an unprecedented display of brute force, the Italian Campaign of 1796 – 1797 catapulted the hitherto unknown Napoleon onto Europe’s centre stage, showing him to be a military genius and political force to be reckoned with.

Two weeks at the front and Napoleon had defeated Piedmont. Another month and he had defeated the Austrian forces. Austria, however, was not out of the game and she was to launch another three offensives in Italy - all of which Napoleon crushed - before she was forced to enter peace negotiations.

The first train of wagons packed with looted art left Milan on 18 May 1796. From then on caravans of requisitioned art works started to flow at a regular pace to the Louvre in Paris. The arrival of the many art works produced a great deal of publicity in Paris, and soon Napoleon's name was associated with all the splendours pouring in from Italy. The influx of art treasures, some of which were immediately sold to feed the war machine, also meant that the french authorities became increasingly dependent on the triumphant general. Napoleon understood only too well the propaganda value of art requisitions.

Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan

One of the first collections in Milan to receive a visit from the French art commissioners was the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, a public and therefore well-known collection. On 19 May, and again on 10 and 25 June, the commissioners marched through the doors of the lavishly decorated museum singling out the most precious works of art.

They didn’t complain about the collection’s inadequate catalogue though, which so many contemporary scholars journeying to the Ambrosiana from all over Europe were in the habit of doing. No, they were more than happy with their findings. Less happy was the prefect of the Ambrosiana, Gaetano Bugati, careful to list all the items requisitioned. These amounted to 12 paintings including five by Breughel and one by Rubens, 20 drawings including Raphael’s School of Athens, 12 manuscripts by Leonardo de Vinci, several incunabula and six assorted items.

The foundation of the Ambrosiana art gallery can be dated back to Cardinal Federico Borromeo's project at the beginning of the 17th century to add a gallery of paintings and statues to the newly formed Bibliotheca Ambrosiana in the belief that religious art had high educational and devotional value. A patron of the arts, Borromeo commissioned Paul Brill and Jan Breughel to produce works that would become the core of the Ambrosiana project in 1607.

Over the years, Borromeo donated many priceless works to the gallery and it should therefore come as no surprise that one of the first art collections to be raided by the French commissioners in 1796 was the Ambrosiana. Tinet, the French commissioner, hand-picked several masterpieces, some of which were returned to the gallery after the downfall of Napoleon in 1815: Raphael’s School of Athens, originally purchased by Borromeo, Leonardo de Vinci’s Codice Atlantico, Jan Breughel’s Allegoria dell'acqua and Allegoria del fuoco, originally commissioned by Borromeo (two other works by Breughel were never returned), and Bernadino Luini’s Madonna and John the Baptist.

Works never returned include Vergil’s manuscript Bucoliva illustrated by Simone Martini, several 6 th century manuscripts, and Flavius Jesephus’ History of the Jewish Wars. In 1815 the Austrian governor sent Baron von Offenfeld to Paris to retrieve the works of art stolen from Lombardy. He managed, for example, to recover Leonardo da Vinci’s Codice Atlantico, which had been kept in the National Library, but what he didn’t know was that other manuscripts by de Vinci were kept the Institut de France.

The Museum: Despite the missing works of art, the Ambrosiana is a very impressive museum by any standard. Even without these many works of art the museum is worth a visit thanks to the lavishly decorated rooms. One of the first works of art that one notices when climbing the steps to the first galleries is the copy of the Laocoon located on the staircase; the original was requisitioned from the Pope. A reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codice Atlantico is on display in the first room. Too fragile to exhibit, the originals are stored in the museum’s vaults. Considering the importance of the work it is easy to see why the French commissioners chose Raphael’s School of Athens. However, their decision is less understandable if one considers the size and fragility of the work. Measuring 285x804 cm, transportation dictated that it was folded or rolled up.

The museum also has several Napoleonic artefacts on display, including miniatures and Napoleon’s white gloves worn during the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Also of Napoleonic interest is Appiani's 1805 portrait of Napoleon, the Napoleon I, King of Italy.

Location: 2, Piazza Pio XI. Opening hours: Tue-Sun 10am-5.30pm.

Santa Maria delle Grazie - famous for Leonardo de Vinci’s The Last Supper - was just as ill fated as the Ambrosiana. It wasn’t de Vinci’s masterpiece that the French commissioners were after though, but Titian’s work Crowning of Christ with Thorns (1570). Why wasn’t The Last Supper requisitioned? It would have been much more difficult to remove a fresco than an altarpiece. Add to that that more than two centuries of humidity had severely damaged the work and we understand why the art commissioner Tinet left it alone. When the church was converted into a stable, the fresco suffered even more: soldiers, whether in an act of iconoclasm or simply just a result of boredom, pelted the disciples with mud. Location: Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie. Open to the public.

Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

The Gonzagas’ residence for almost 400 years and before them home to the rulers of the Bonacolsi dynasty, the Palazzo Ducale is by far the most important historical sight in Mantua. The many independent buildings that together constitute the large complex of Palazzo Ducale were erected between the 12 th and the 17 th centuries and cover an area of more than 34,000 square meters. Also a museum containing more than 500 rooms, the Palazzo Ducale is indeed a monumental testimony to the history not only of Mantua but of Italy as a whole.

Just like the advent of the Austrian empress Maria Theresa’s rule breathed new life into Milan, so it was for the Austrian dominion of Mantua. The Austrians also chose Palazzo Ducale as their headquarters in Mantua and in 1780 the Appartamento degli Arazzi (Tapestry Room) – part of the Austrian rulers’ preferred quarters – were refurbished in line with the fashionable neo-classical style. Four years earlier, in 1776, upon the order of Joseph II, the large tapestries that now adorn the rooms were moved from the church of Santa Barbara as part of the redecoration.

Napoleon's HQ: When Bonaparte entered Mantua in March 1797 to complete the re-organisation of the city’s governmental structures and prepare for the invasion of Germany, he stayed in these very rooms, which haven’t changed much in the last 200 years or so. The influence of the French Empire under Napoleon is further acknowledged in the Camera dello Zodiaco (The Zodiac Room) adjacent to the Tapestry Rooms. Again neo-classical designs prevail, now with neo-Egyptian shapes. There are also four stuccos with Napoleonic allegories.

Rubens: Perhaps the most magnificent work of art in the entire museum is Rubens’ altarpiece of 1605, the Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Trinity, on display in Galleria Nuova (or Galleria degli Arcieri). Actually, what’s on display is only a piece of the original altarpiece requisitioned by the French in 1797 from the church of Santissima Trinità. The size of the altarpiece meant that the French art commissioner had to cut it into pieces to allow for transportation. Also of direct interest is the oval portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria by Giorgio Anselmi in Saletta dei Quatro Elementi, which used to hang in one of the main rooms during Austrian rule.

Location: Piazza Sordello. Opening hours: Tues-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-2pm.

Mantua's unlucky churches

Duomo de San Pietro. At first glance the most striking thing about the cathedral is how its façade differs from its main body. More than any other church in Mantua, the cathedral is an amalgam of different architectural styles, the most recent being the typically neo-classical façade finished in 1761. While the façade preceded Bonaparte’s invasion by only a few years, the cathedral’s Gothic right side was erected in the 16th century. It was, however, not the architecture that induced the French art commissioners to pay the cathedral a visit, but rather Paolo Veronese’s Temptation of St. Anthony from 1552. The painting was never returned and today it is to be enjoyed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen in France. Location: Piazza Sordello. Open to the public.

Church of Santissima Trinità. Commissioned by Vincenzo Gonzaga, the construction of the church was completed in 1597. Eight years later in 1605 a large triptych by Rubens to function as the church’s main altarpiece was finished. Here it was allowed to reside until a French art commissioner in the spring of 1797 had it short-listed for requisition, turning the church into an arsenal in the process. The size of the triptych meant that the commissioners saw no other way than to cut it into separate pieces. Only one of the sidepieces, however, the Transfiguration of Christ, ended up in the Louvre in Paris, though it was later transferred to a museum in Nancy because it was heavily damaged. The other sidepiece, the Baptism of Christ, was sold by an Italian art dealer and later acquired by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp in Holland. The last and at the same time most important centrepiece, the Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Trinity, was also damaged by the removal, but has remained in Mantua and is now on display in the Palazzo Ducale. Today the church is part of a larger complex that houses Mantua’s state archives. Location: 9-11, Via Roberto Ardigò. Not open to the public.

Church of San Francesco. Located in the harmonious square between Il Rio and Palazzo d’Arco, the church dates back to 1304. Perhaps one of the reasons contributing to the French decision in 1797 to close down the church for worship and convert it into a storehouse was that the church had been an important burial place for many for the Gonzagas and was consequently oozing with feudal symbolism. It is not surprising then that the Capella dei Gonzaga, a side chapel containing the Gonzaga mausoleum and richly decorated by works of art and frescoes, suffered during the French occupation. The church remained a barracks until the end of World War II during the course of which it also suffered heavily from allied bombings. Only fragments of the original frescoes of the Gonzaga chapel remain. Location: Via Scarsellini. Open to the public.

Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Until the spring of 1797 Andrea Mantegna’s painting, the Madonna della Vittoria, shared the history of the church. Both church and painting were commissioned by Francesco II Gonzaga to commemorate his victory against the French in the Battle of Fornovo. Gonzaga actually lost the battle but the painting and the church were nevertheless finished in 1495. Travellers who wish to see it will have to travel to the Louvre in Paris. Location: Via Domenico Fernelli. Open to the public.

Religious Art in Verona

Two other chapels in the cathedral should attract the Napoleonic eye, namely the family chapels of Emilei and Maffei: the Cappella Emilei (the third chapel on the nave’s right-hand side) and the Cappella Maffei (at the bottom of the nave on the left).Location: Piazza di Duomo. Open to the public.

Across the river, not far from the cathedral,the church of San Giorgio in Braida kept two paintings by Paolo Veronese requisitioned by the French. Knowing what to look for, the French art commissioners carved out eight bronze bas-reliefs by Andrea Briosco il Riccio in a small chapel in the back of the church of San Fermo Maggiore. Paolo Veronese was a local artist, and as there were plenty of his works around there were plenty to steal as well. The church of Madonna della Vittoria also lost one painting by the renowned artist.

San Giorgio in Braida The biggest losers in the French thirst for the most renowned art works were, as always, the churches. The church of San Giorgio in Braida lost the Martyrdom of St. George and Barnabas Healing the Sick, both by Paolo Veronese; only the former was returned to the church. Although the latter was never returned, a copy has nonetheless been made for the church. The church is one of the most blessed churches in Verona in terms of Italian masterpieces and, apart from the works by Veronese, includes works by Tintoretto and Brusasorci. San Giorgio in Braida was founded in 1447 on top of the ruins of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. George.

Madonna della Vittoria It was only natural that the art commissioners should seek out works by Paolo Veronese; he was after all probably the most celebrated artist to come out of Verona. It was consequently of high risk to be in possession of works by that particular artist, something the Church of Madonna della Vittoria was also to feel. Short-listed, Paolo Veronese’s The Deposition of Christ was later returned, and is now on display in the Castelvecchio.

San Fermo Maggiore That the French art commissioners often knew exactly what to look for was well illustrated by their raid of the Gothic church of San Fermo Maggiore. In a small rectangular chapel almost hidden behind the nave’s left wall is a mausoleum to the Della Torre family, adorned with eight small bas-reliefs cast in bronze. The bas-reliefs are copies. The originals are on display in the Louvre in Paris. The monument was constructed between 1516 and 1521 by Andrea Briosco (il Riccio) in honour of Girolamo della Torre, a physician and professor of medicine, along with his son Marcantonio, also a professor of medicine and a friend of Leonardo da Vinci. The bas-reliefs were inspired by Virgil's book, the Aeneid, and depict the journey of the dead soul into the underworld.

The church’s present form is largely attributable to the period in the church’s history when the Franciscans acquired the complex in 1261. Location: at Ponte Navi. Open to the public.

Vienna Congress

At the Vienna Congress, constituted in 1814 while Napoleon was in exile on the island of Elba, the question of what to do about the plundered art turned into a particularly hot issue.

The central powers such as Austria and Prussia obviously demanded that all the works be returned. France, which by now had been restored to the Bourbons, argued that returning all of the works would destabilise the restoration process. The English, who had suffered no plundering themselves, but who had on the contrary gained quite a few works through more or less dubious ways, sided with France.

Eventually it was decided that only the works in store were to be returned, excluding then the works already on public display. The conference, however, was temporarily discontinued by Napoleon’s return from exile and when the Battle of Waterloo three months later again brought large foreign armies to France, Blücher, the Prussian commander in chief, saw no reason why he shouldn’t invade the Louvre and bring back the stolen property. Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, and Denon, the director of the Louvre, protested heavily but to no avail. On 11 July 1815, 300 Prussian troops forced their way into the Louvre where Blücher’s commissioners set out to recover most of the lost Prussian property. The Prussians didn’t limit their recovery of lost treasures to those of Prussian origin though. A few works of indisputably French ownership were also carried away, and Blücher sought out David’s painting Bonaparte crossing the Alps at St. Bernard for himself.

When the European powers returned to the tables of diplomacy, it was the turn of the remaining states with outstanding treasures to force their claims through.

The Pope had sent Canova, the most prominent of contemporary Italian sculptors, to present his claims and with the assistance of the English he managed to get the French to agree to return all of the treasures requisitioned from the Papal territories. On 2 October 1815 he could begin the hard work of packing the paintings, sculptures and documents in the Louvre into boxes. Disoriented, Denon, reduced to a mere spectator of this most heinous of crimes that brought his lifework to ruins, resigned from his post the following day. Still, he was free to seek consolation in the vast private collection he had managed to scrape together during his years in office.

The Pope later showed his gratitude towards the English diplomat Hamilton by presenting him with a work by Titian. Canova wasn’t forgotten either; he would receive the title of Marchese di Ischia and a substantial life-long annual payment, the latter of which he offered in support of schools of art.

On 23 and 24 October 41 wagons left Paris, 16 headed for Austrian territory (including parts of Northern Italy), 12 for Rome and eight for Turin. Several thousand pieces of art were never retrieved though, and the Louvre, even by today’s standards, is still one of Europe’s most splendid museums.

Napoleon’s later suppression of the church and the Brera in Milan

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.