Giovanni Migliara
Giovanni Migliara (Alessandria, 1785 – Milan, 1837) was an Italian painter, one of the leading exponents of nineteenth-century view painting, whose works are also held in Turin at the Museo del Risorgimento Italiano.
Giovanni Migliara was born in Alessandria in 1785 and died in Milan in 1837. He is considered one of the most refined exponents of nineteenth-century Italian painting [1].
Training and style
He trained as a stage designer and, building on that experience, developed an original pictorial language that combined the precision of eighteenth-century vedutismo (view painting) with a Romantic sensitivity for light, atmosphere and the passage of time [1].
His recurring subjects include the silent architecture of Cistercian churches and cloisters and the great squares of Milan, Venice and Genoa, which Migliara turns into evocative settings where light plays a central role in building the image [1].
Works and collections
His works, among them oils, drawings, albums and fixés, are held by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, the Pinacoteca e Museo Civico of Alessandria and various private collections, some of which have never been shown to the public [1].
Among the works of particular interest is the drawing "Silvio Pellico nella scuola di mutuo insegnamento di Santa Caterina a Milano" ("Silvio Pellico at the Santa Caterina mutual-teaching school in Milan"), made between 1815 and 1820 and held at the Museo del Risorgimento Italiano in Turin [1].
The 2026–2027 exhibition
In 1937 Alessandria had already dedicated a historic exhibition to Migliara. Almost ninety years later, from 28 November 2026 to 23 May 2027 the Palatium Vetus in Alessandria, in piazza della Libertà, hosts the exhibition "Giovanni Migliara. Luce e memoria. La poesia dello sguardo tra realtà e invenzione" ("Giovanni Migliara. Light and memory. The poetry of the gaze between reality and invention"), curated by Mariateresa Cairo and Vittoria Oneto and produced by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria [1]. The exhibition brings together more than 160 works from the Fondazione's collections, from the city's Pinacoteca e Museo Civico and from private loans [1]. The loans also include "Il Bucintoro al Molo nel giorno dell'Ascensione" ("The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day") by Canaletto, on loan from the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin, shown to compare Migliara's language with the tradition of Venetian view painting [1]. The opening is set for Friday 27 November 2026 at 5.30 p.m., with free admission to the public from the following day [1].
Timeline
- — From 28 November 2026 to 23 May 2027 the Palatium Vetus in Alessandria hosts the exhibition «Giovanni Migliara. Luce e memoria», with more than 160 works by the nineteenth-century Alessandria painter from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, the city's Pinacoteca civica and private collections, produced by the Fondazione itself. → Radio Gold
Sources
- Alessandria, mostra Giovanni Migliara Palatium Vetus Fondazione Cral — Radio Gold, 12 November 2026