.:. art / a Milanese in Venice 

La seduzione del colore. Andrea Solario e il Rinascimento tra Italia e Francia
March 25 through June 30, 2025

more pictures .:. Should we stick to today's borders, Andrea Solari (or Solario: around 1470-1524) was a Swiss, belonging to a family of architects and sculptors rooted in what is now a district of Lugano. His grandfather Giovanni had been an engineer at the building site of the Charterhouse of Pavia – to which Cristoforo Solari would contribute a lot of statues – and Guiniforte Solari took care of several churches, Santa Maria delle Grazie among them, built under the Visconti and Sforza dukes. Andrea was most probably born in Milan, though, and certainly qualified himself as a Milanese (picture).
.:. Most art historians consider Solari a Leonardesque, that is a member of the Da Vinci circle of artists, but the altarpiece whose signature we're considering was painted in Venice, where Andrea went to work. It was there that he came in touch with international artists like the German Albrecht Dürer, who also were active in the Serenissima, and blended his style with those of Venetian master painters like Giovanni Bellini. Andrea would later work in France, too, following the uncle of a governor of Milan in those years of fast changing regimes.
.:. The Poldi, which is one of the leading collectors' houses in the world, has boasted an impressive bunch of Solari's paintings since the 19th century. This time the museum displays other works by the artist, on temporary loan from sister collections from London (National Gallery, British Museum), Paris (the Louvre), and Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Museum). It's a small exhibition, yet a wonderful one.

 Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Via Alessandro Manzoni 12
Montenapoleone
Monte Napoleone district

  Wed-Mon 10am-6pm (last admission 5pm), closed on public holidays
   Euro 15 / Euro 10, visit to the museum included
    [+39] 02 794889