The great galleries of the academy

The Galleries of the Academy of Venice represent in the Italian history of the early nineteenth century, one of the most important examples of a museum of political origin, together with Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan and the Academy of Bologna. They were built in the early twelfth century and are divided into several historic buildings developed within the city (the church of Santa Maria della Carità, the adjoining monastery and the Academy of Fine Arts.). On 24 September 1750, the Venetian Senate established the birth of the Venetian Academy, which included 36 professors and four courses: Figure, Portrait, Landscape and Sculpture. In 1768, the “perspective and architecture” course was added. The Academy immediately dealt with conservation and restoration, while in 1819 the institution for the restoration of damaged paintings was inaugurated. From 1798 many works of art began to arrive from monasteries, convents and Venetian churches. Then, in 1817, thanks to donations and rich private collections, the galleries opened to the public. Visitors and students were finally able to see great artists like Piazzetta, Tiepolo, Zanchi, Diziani, Morlaiter, Selva, Canova, Hayez, Lipparini, Matteini, Grigoletti, Politi, Molmenti, Favretto, Nono, Ciardi, Milesi, Tito, Cadorin, Cesetti, Saetti, Giuliani, Arturo Martini, Alberto Viani, Mario de Luigi, Carlo Scarpa, Afro, Santomaso, Emilio Vedova. In the Galleries there is also the most important collection of Venetian paintings in the world. 37 halls host works from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, masterpieces such as La Pietà by Titian, Legend of Saint Ursula by Carpaccio and The Feast in the House of Levi by Veronese. Thanks to the generosity of illustrious Venetian collectors, new acquisitions were made: Il lascito by Girolamo Molin, L’Annunciazione by Lorenzo Veneziano, Il Paradiso by Giambono and the triptychs by Alberegno and Jacobello del Fiore; as well as works such as San Girolamo by Pietro della Francesca, La Vergine tra due sante  by Bellini, La Madonna degli alberetti and La Vergine col Bimbo benedicente  by Giovanni Bellini, the famous Vitruvian Man by Leonardo, Saint George by Mantegna, Ritratto di giovane by Memling, La Vecchia by Giorgione, and, eventually, The Tempest by Giorgione, acquired by the Italian state. Source: www.gallerieaccademia.it