Poland – The Renaissance in Northern Italy on show in Warsaw

‎The National Museum in Warsaw is hosting a selection of Renaissance paintings from the Tosio Martinengo Art Gallery in Brescia. The section includes works by Moretto, Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo, Giovan Battista Moroni, Raphael, Titian, and Lorenzo Lotto. The exhibition “Brescia. Il Rinascimento nell’Italia del nord” (Brescia: the Renaissance in Northern Italy) will run until Aug. 28. The paintings on display were selected from the collection of the Tosio Martinengo Art Gallery, which, with its 900 works of art, is one of the most important galleries in the region of Lombardy. Its collection includes paintings spanning six centuries, from the 1200s to the 1700s. Its origins date back to the sizable artistic treasure trove bequeathed to the city of Brescia by Count Paolo Tosio in 1842. Tosio’s prominence as a collector is evidenced by the numerous 16th century paintings, all of extraordinary value, gathered in the palace that he donated to the city. Count Paolo Tosio’s essentially classical taste is revealed by the two paintings by Raphael – “Angel” and “Christ Blessing” – that he purchased on the Italian antique market. The exhibition has dedicated a section to the ‘founder’ of Brescia’s artistic collections, including a small selection of paintings documenting his interest in Alessandro Moretto, who was considered a purist and Brescia’s own home-bred Raphael. The exhibition was organised by the National Museum in Warsaw in association with the Brescia Museums Foundation and STart.