Il Ponte Auction House joins the celebrations marking the donation of the Vallardi Album to the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, formally announced on 28 May 2026 as part of the institution’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The inclusion of the collection within the Academy’s holdings represents the culmination of a process of scholarly research and promotion, in which the auction house played a leading role during the sale of Furniture and Old Master Paintings held on 24 March 2026. This achievement forms part of a broader undertaking that brought together scholars, institutions and patrons around one of the most significant groups of Neoclassical drawings by Giuseppe Bossi, including three sheets attributed to Andrea Appiani.
Giuseppe Bossi (Busto Arsizio 1777 - Milano 1815) e Andrea Appiani (Milano 1754 - 1817)
"GIUSEPPE BOSSI / MILANESE / Questi disegni da lui eseguiti / a testimonio / dell'alta erudizione e filosofia / nell'arte in cui fu maestro / e a grata riconoscenza / GIUSEPPE VALLARDI / raccolse / l'anno MDCCCXXI".
Arredi e Dipinti antichi 24, 25, 26 marzo 2026. Courtesy Il Ponte Casa d'Aste.
Formerly owned by Giuseppe Vallardi (Milan, 1784–1861), a key figure in Milanese publishing and printing culture, the collection had remained in private hands for many years and constituted a rare and previously unpublished body of material: a corpus of 380 drawings documenting the artistic production of Giuseppe Bossi, one of the foremost exponents of Lombard Neoclassicism. Aware of the exceptional importance of the group, the specialists of the Old Master Drawings and Prints Department undertook extensive research from the moment the collection was entrusted to them. This work culminated in the catalogue essay written by Professor Fernando Mazzocca. During the course of these studies, three drawings attributable to Andrea Appiani were identified, a discovery that further demonstrates the contribution that research activities promoted by the auction house can make to the reconstruction of art-historical knowledge.
The enhancement and promotion process also included an extensive communication and outreach programme, culminating in the pre-sale exhibition held at Palazzo Crivelli on 20, 21 and 22 March 2026. Equally crucial was the dialogue established with the authorities responsible for heritage protection and the involvement of the auction house’s extensive client network. The aim was to create the conditions for identifying collectors who would act as true custodians of the collection, ensuring that the transaction would be motivated not merely by acquisition, but by a commitment to preserving the integrity of the album and ultimately facilitating its transfer into a public institution.
The acquisition of the album, made possible through the support of the Equita Foundation and a group of Milanese patrons, and its subsequent donation to the Brera Academy, represents the culmination of a project aimed at enriching the institution’s holdings. These collections had already benefited from major historical donations, including a group of 344 drawings by Andrea Appiani donated by Enrico Cernuschi in 1820, and a collection of 612 drawings by Appiani, Bossi and other Neoclassical masters donated by Giberto Borromeo Arese in 1882.
Today, the addition of the Vallardi Album to the Brera collections stands as a tangible example of how collaboration between auction houses, art market professionals and public institutions can transform a sale into an opportunity for preservation, research and the transmission of cultural memory. This is a mission that Il Ponte Auction House continues to pursue, guided by the conviction that its role extends beyond facilitating the exchange and circulation of works of art. It can also serve as a vehicle for knowledge, appreciation and the safeguarding of the nation’s artistic heritage, particularly in the case of works that have already been officially protected and recognised as being of significant historical and artistic importance.
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