Description of the attraction
The Vicenza Municipal Art Gallery occupies the Palazzo Chiericati building, designed by Andrea Palladio in 1550 for Girolamo Chiericati. The grandiose palace was finally completed only at the end of the 17th century according to the original sketches. In 1839, the municipality of Vicenza bought the Palazzo from the aristocratic Chiericati family and housed the city's art collection. Subsequently, the building was restored by architects Berti and Miglioranza and in 1855 it was opened to the public as a museum.
Today, Palazzo Chiericati houses a collection of paintings and sculptures, the Room of Drawings and Sketches and the Hall of Numismatics. An important core of the collection of paintings are altarpieces from the now defunct Church of San Bartolomeo and works by Bartolomeo Montagna, Giovanni Bonconsillo, Cima da Conegliano, Giovanni Speranza and Marcello Fogolino. Here you can also see seven huge tympans depicting the glorification of the Venetian rulers by Jacopo Bassano, Francesco Maffei and Giulio Carpioni.
In the 19th century, the museum's collections were replenished with masterpieces by such masters as Tintoretto, Anton Van Dyck, Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, Luca Giordano, Giambattista Tiepolo and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, donated by the aristocratic families of the city. The real gem of the collection are 33 drawings by Andrea Palladio, which Gaetano Pinali bequeathed to the museum in 1839. Another philanthropist, Neri Pozza, donated to the museum a collection of his own sculptures and prints, as well as works from his collection of works of modern art - paintings by Carlo Carr, Filippo De Pisis, Virgilio Judi, Osvaldo Licini, Otone Rosalie, and others.
Over the years, the City Art Gallery has expanded not only its funds, but also spaces. The core of it remained the Palazzo Chiericati, and in the 19th century another building was added to it on the south side.
