Brera Academy facts for kids
 |
|
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1776 |
| President | Livia Pomodoro |
| Dean | Giovanni Iovane |
| Students | 3,800 |
| Location |
,
Italy
45°28′20″N 9°11′17″E / 45.47222°N 9.18806°E |
| Campus | Urban |
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, also known as the Brera Academy, is a public art school in Milan, Italy. It offers college-level education in fine arts. The academy shares its history and main building with the Pinacoteca di Brera, which is Milan's main public art museum. There were plans to move the academy to a new building, a former military barracks. But later, that plan changed. Now, they are thinking about another location, an old railway area, for the campus.
Contents
History of the Brera Academy
The Brera Academy was started in 1776 by Maria Theresa of Austria. It was founded during a time called the Age of Enlightenment. So, it shared its building with other important places. These included an observatory (for studying stars), a botanical garden (for plants), schools for different subjects, and a library.
They were all in the Palazzo Brera building. This building was once a college for Jesuits (a religious group) until 1773. The Palazzo Brera was built around 1615.
What the Academy Does
The Brera Academy is a public art school in Italy. It is overseen by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research. The academy offers different levels of degrees. These include first-level degrees, second-level degrees, and even master's and doctorate degrees.
The academy has three main areas of study:
- Visual Arts: Here, students can learn about decorative art, graphic art, painting, and sculpture.
- Design and Applied Art: This area includes courses in art restoration, business design, new art technologies, and scenic design (for theater).
- Communication and Education in Art: Students in this department learn about protecting cultural heritage and teaching art.
About 3,800 students attend the academy. Around 1,000 of these students come from other countries. The academy also takes part in the ERASMUS programme. This program allows students and teachers to exchange with schools in other countries.
The Brera Picture Gallery
The art museum connected to the academy is called the Pinacoteca di Brera. It started in 1806, during the time of Napoleon. Many paintings were brought to Milan after Napoleon closed down many convents.
The church of Santa Maria in Brera, which was part of the old monastery, was changed. Its front was taken down. The main part of the church was divided into two floors. The top floor became the art gallery for the academy. This gallery opened in 1809. The bottom floor held sculptures from an antiquities museum.
The Pinacoteca became a separate museum from the academy in 1882. However, both still share the Palazzo Brera building.
Famous People from Brera
Many talented people have studied or taught at the Brera Academy.
Some famous students include:
- Dario Fo: A playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997.
- Carlo Carrà: A Futurist painter who also taught at the academy from 1939 to 1952.
Some famous teachers include:
- Francesco Hayez: A Venetian painter who taught painting from 1822 to 1880.
- Camillo Boito: An architect and writer who taught architecture from 1860 to 1909. He was also the president of the academy for some time.
Curiosity
The Contemporary Art Library at the Academy is very special. It is one of only 24 libraries in the world that owns a rare book. This book is called "Treatise on Demonology, Summa verborum, numeri, temporis et spatii" by Filippo Biagioli.
See also
In Spanish: Academia de Bellas Artes de Brera para niños
