Appiani

From September 23, 2025 to January 11, 2026, Palazzo Reale presents a major exhibition dedicated to Andrea Appiani, a central figure of Italian Neoclassicism. Official painter to Napoleon and a refined witness to an era between the Enlightenment and the Empire, Appiani was one of the most celebrated artists of his time—yet today remains relatively unknown to the general public.

The exhibition features over 100 works, including paintings, frescoes, drawings, and decorative objects, loaned from major Italian and international institutions such as the Louvre, Versailles, the Brera Academy, and the GAM of Milan. It offers a unique opportunity to rediscover the elegance of his style, marked by balance, grace, and formal precision—evident in both his portraits of Milan’s intellectual elite (Parini, Foscolo, the Verri brothers) and his grand celebrations of Napoleonic power, such as the renowned portrait of Joséphine de Beauharnais.

The exhibition goes beyond Appiani’s most famous paintings, highlighting his broader artistic role in creating medals, furniture, and decorative arts. Over fifty years after the last retrospective dedicated to him, this show is a major step toward restoring Appiani’s rightful place in the history of Italian art.