Pinacoteca
DON FERRANTE'S BOOKS IN THE BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA
An exhibition that aims at reconstructing the "considerable collection of books” belonging to Don Ferrante, which Alessandro Manzoni describes in the Promessi Sposi (The Bethroted).
Even though slightly different in size, the two works appear to have been planned together, and together they reached the Ambrosiana in 1893. The horizontal arrangement of the objects is almost identical: two pewter trays with beautiful fruit are accompanied by fruit, flowers and insects on the table top, which is painted with such precision as to render even the veining of the wood. The simple composition, together with the meticulous execution, help create a sense of abstraction and silence. The römer glass is a typically Flemish detail, which often appears in still lifes from the region.