Brera Academy facts for kids
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|
| 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 famous public art school in Milan, Italy. It's a place where students learn about fine arts. This academy shares its history and main building with the Pinacoteca di Brera, which is Milan's main public art museum. There have been talks about moving the academy to a new location, with a former railway yard in Via Farini being considered as of 2018.
Contents
History of the Brera Academy
The Brera Academy was started in 1776 by Maria Theresa, who was the ruler of Austria at the time. This was during a period called the Age of Enlightenment, when people were very interested in learning and science.
The academy was set up in a special building called the Palazzo Brera. This building was designed around 1615. Before the academy, it was a college run by a group called the Jesuits until 1773.
The idea was to have many important cultural and scientific places all in one building. So, the academy shared its home with an astronomical observatory, a botanical garden, schools for philosophy and law, and a library. Later, in 1806, the Pinacoteca di Brera, an art gallery, also joined them.
What Students Learn at the Academy
The Brera Academy is a public art school, meaning it's supported by the government. It's overseen by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research.
Students at the academy can earn different types of degrees. These include first-level and second-level degrees, which are like bachelor's and master's degrees. They can also get specialized degrees and even doctorates.
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 department offers courses in art restoration (fixing old artworks), design for businesses, new art technologies, and scenic design (creating sets for plays or movies).
- Communication and Education in Art: Students in this area learn about how to preserve cultural heritage and how to teach art.
About 3,800 students attend the academy. Around 1,000 of these students come from other countries, many of them studying for advanced degrees. The academy also takes part in the ERASMUS programme. This program allows students and teachers to exchange places with institutions in other countries.
The Brera Picture Gallery
The art gallery connected to the academy is now known as the Pinacoteca di Brera. It began in 1806, during the time when Napoleon ruled parts of Italy.
Many paintings were brought to Milan after Napoleon closed down convents. The church of Santa Maria in Brera, which was part of a former monastery, was changed. Its main hall was divided into two floors. The upper floor became the art gallery for the academy, opening in 1809. The lower floor held sculptures.
The Pinacoteca became a separate museum from the academy in 1882. However, both the academy and the gallery still share the same historic Palazzo Brera building.
Famous People from Brera Academy
Many talented artists and thinkers 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 painter known for his work in the Futurism art movement. He also taught at the academy from 1939 to 1952.
Some notable teachers at the academy were:
- Francesco Hayez: A Venetian painter who taught painting from 1822 to 1880.
- Camillo Boito: An architect and writer who was a professor of architecture from 1860 to 1909. He was also the president of the academy for some of that time.
Curiosity
The Contemporary Art Library at the Academy has a very special collection. It is one of only 24 libraries in the world that owns a unique book 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
