Appiani. Neoclassicism in Milan
Italian translation of the exhibition catalogue published by Electa
Milan, Palazzo Reale, 23 September 2025 – 11 January 2026
Palazzo Reale hosts the exhibition: Appiani. Neoclassicism in Milan , a major show dedicated to Andrea Appiani (Milan, 1754–1817), a key figure in Italian Neoclassicism and a leading interpreter of painting between the Enlightenment and the Napoleonic era.
Through a carefully selected group of over 100 works, the exhibition retraces Appiani’s artistic career, offering the public a renewed appreciation of the richness and dynamism of Neoclassical Milan, of which he was a defining figure.
Already well established in Austrian Milan for his decorative works in theatres, palaces and churches – including his intervention in Santa Maria dei Miracoli – Andrea Appiani rose to prominence following his encounter with Napoleon. He dedicated numerous portraits to the French leader and produced the cycle The Triumphs of Napoleon, a series of tempera paintings on military subjects that were tragically destroyed during the bombing of the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale in August 1943.
During the same raid, the fresco Apotheosis of Napoleon, painted on the ceiling of the Sala del Trono (Throne Room), was also damaged. Today, the severely compromised work is kept at Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, once the residence of one of Appiani’s most erudite patrons, Giuseppe Sommariva.
In 1805, Appiani was appointed “First Painter to Napoleon” and was also entrusted with the task of selecting the works seized from churches and convents during the Italian campaigns, in order to establish the collections of the Pinacoteca di Brera, which was officially inaugurated in 1809.