Ambrosiana

Kids and Lambs
Francesco Londonio (1723-1783)
c. 1750 – 1770
oil on paper
30 × 40 cm
(detail)

Educational tour | 90 MINUTES | Junior secondary schools, Senior secondary schools

CARAVAGGIO: TRUER THAN LIFE

Visitors will be guided to discover artworks that lay great stress on representing reality, the cornerstone of Caravaggio’s revolution in the 17th century.

Artists have always explored the world around them, seeking to understand and represent it. Reality can be understood in many ways: it may be the ability to express emotions and moods pictorially, a fundamental purpose for Leonardo and his followers, as well as artists such as Moroni, Moretto and Fede Galizia. Or it may seek to depict the most minute details, an effort apparent in the still lifes and landscapes by the Flemish artists, who on our visit will enable us to illustrate in detail the pictorial genres favoured by Cardinal Federico.

If the paintings by Induno and Migliara, and the portraits of Hayez and Appiani seem closely related to the approach adopted in modern photography, with Caravaggio’s fruit basket – one of Borromeo’s favorite works – the innovations of his painting are illustrated in detail. He was not only very skilful in the realistic representation of many details, but through the genre of still life he created an extraordinary allegory of human existence.

At left, detail, Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, Andrea Appiani (1754-1817), 1805, oil on canvas, 57 × 44 cm; at right, Mouse with Roses, Jan Brueghel the Elder, sometimes known as “Velvet Brueghel” (1568-1625), 1605, oil on copper, 7.2 × 10.2 cm


Educational tour


90 MINUTES

Junior secondary schools, Senior secondary schools

WHAT’S ON

READING ROOM CLOSURE FROM SEPTEMBER 24 TO 29

Ambrosiana

READING ROOM CLOSURE FROM SEPTEMBER 24 TO 29

Reading room closed from September 24 to 29 included

24/09/2025-29/09/2025
ARE YOU IN LOVE? NO I'M IN MILANO

Ambrosiana

ARE YOU IN LOVE? NO I'M IN MILANO

19/09/2025-14/10/2025
Exhibition
SEPTEMBER 28: SPECIAL EVENING OPENING

Ambrosiana

SEPTEMBER 28: SPECIAL EVENING OPENING

From 18.00 to 19.30 (last admission) entrance to the Art Gallery and Crypt at the special price of €3.00

28/09/2025-28/09/2025
Natura morta<br>Jago and Caravaggio: two views on the transience of life

Pinacoteca

ONLINE COLLECTION

(158 online artworks)

Jael and Sisera, Giuseppe Vermiglio (1585-1635)
Octagonal casket, Bottega degli Embriachi (XIV-XV secolo)
Portrait of Manfredo Settala, Daniele Crespi (1600-1630) attribuito a
Portrait of Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine (later Leopold II), Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-1779)
The Blessed Soul, Anonimo lombardo (XVII secolo)
The Triumph of David, Lucas Hugenszoon detto Luca di Leida (1494-1533)
Portrait of Giuseppina Negroni Prati Morosini, Francesco Hayez (1791-1882)
Head of Christ the Redeemer, Gian Giacomo Caprotti detto Salai (1480-1524)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 909 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 1006 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Saint John the Baptist, Gian Giacomo Caprotti
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 72 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus) f. 710 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 873 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Portrait of Saint Charles Borromeo, Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548-1608)
Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), f. 104 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, Antonio Badile (1518-1560)
Libro d’Ore Borromeo, Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486)
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Ambito di Francesco Albani (1578-1660)
Portrait of Giovanni Battista Morosini, Francesco Hayez (1791-1882)
Original Sin, Jan II Brueghel il Giovane (1601-1678)
Sacra Conversazione, Ambrogio da Fossano detto il Bergognone (1453-1523)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 1058 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 71 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus) f. 199 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Locked out of school, Emilio Longoni (1859-1932)
Still Life with Fruit, Isaac Soreau (1604-1638)
Daggers with sheath (eared sfondagiaco dagger), Milanese Gunsmiths
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 49 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 5 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Laocoon (copy of the Vatican original), Leone Leoni
De divina proportione, Luca Pacioli (1445 circa – 1517)
Male portrait, Hans Muelich (1516-1573)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 307 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Lesenes and trophies, Agostino Busti detto il Bambaia (1483-1548)
Portrait of Bernardino da Lesmo, Bartolomeo Veneto (1502-1530)
Armillary sphere, NA
The Holy Family with Sain John, Tobias and the Archangel Raphael, Bonifacio Veronese (1487-1553)
Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), f. 1 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Napoleon Bonaparte’s gloves, NA
The Martyrdom of Saint Peter of Verona, Alessandro Bonvicino detto Moretto (1490-1554)
Mary Magdalene, Tiziano Vecellio (1480-1576)
Portrait of Alessandro Negroni Prati Morosini, Francesco Hayez (1791-1882)
Susanna at her Bath, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1609-1661)
Landscape with Saint John the Baptist, Paul Bril (1554-1626)
Man in Armour, Tiziano Vecellio (1480-1576)
Saint Michael the Archangel, Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574-1625)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 719 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Orrery, Sconosciuto
Vase of Flowers with Jewel, Coins and Shells, Jan Brueghel il Vecchio “Dei Velluti” (1568-1625)
Portrait of a Musician, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Apse of San Satiro and View of the Duomo, Giovanni Migliara (1785-1837)
The Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Jerome, Cesare Magni (1511-1534)
A Soul in Purgatory, Anonimo lombardo (XVII secolo)
Winter Landscape with Skaters, Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634)
The Adoration, Bartolomeo Suardi detto il Bramantino (1465-1530)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 4 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Madonna of the Pavilion, Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi detto) (1444 o 1445-1510)
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Jacopo da Ponte detto il Bassano (1510-1592)
Mercury and Argus, Anonimo genovese (XVII secolo)
Washerwomen at the Canal, Emilio Gola (1851-1923)
Portrait of Paolo Morigia, Fede Galizia (1578-1630)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 844 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Holy Family, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1609-1661)
Clock with astrolabe, Sconosciuto
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 845 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Portrait of a Young Man, Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco copia da) (1478 circa-1510)
Latin astrolabe, Anonymous
Display case with the hair of Lucrezia Borgia, Alfredo Ravasco
Horse’s head (Copy from the equestrian monument to Marcus Aurelius on the Capitol in Rome), NA
The Adoration with Saint Roch, Gian Pietro Rizzoli detto Giampietrino (1508-1549)
The Last Supper, Andrea Bianchi detto il Vespino (attivo 1612-1640)
Self Portrait, Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
Cup with Turbo marmoratus shell, Christoph Lencker (1556 circa-1613)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 663 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Pietà (copy from Michelangelo), Leone Leoni
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 12 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Figured casket, Scultore lombardo
Allegory of Fire, Jan Brueghel il Vecchio “Dei Velluti” (1568-1625)
Portrait of Emilia Morosini Zeltner, Francesco Hayez (1791-1882)
The Madonna Nursing the Child by the Fountain, Bernaert van Orley (1488-1541)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 455 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 272 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Plato, Giovanni Antonio Piatti (1447-1480)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 26 verso, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 33 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Still Life with Musical Instruments, Evaristo Baschenis (1617-1677)
The Kiss, Francesco Hayez (1791-1882)
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Giandomenico Tiepolo (1727-1804)
The Assumption of the Virgin, Giovanni Agostino da Lodi (1467-1524 circa)
Crib, Federico Barocci o Baroccio detto il Fiori (1535-1612) (replica di)
The Ambrosian Virgil of Francesco Petrarca, NA
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 139 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Annunciation, Gerolamo Mazzola Bedoli (1500-1569)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 812 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
View of the Interior of the Duomo, Giovanni Migliara (1785-1837)
The Virgin of the Rocks, Andrea Bianchi detto il Vespino (attivo 1612-1640)
llias picta, NA
Dantesque window, Giuseppe Bertini (1825-1898)
Basket of fruit, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 21 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Portrait of a Gentleman (Michel de l’Hospital), Giovan Battista Moroni (1520-1578)
The Arco della Pace in Milan, Giovanni Migliara (1785-1837)
The Magdalen and the Angel, Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574-1625)
Portrait of a Pilgrim, Monogrammista HL (XVI secolo)
Maternity, Mosè Bianchi (1840-1904)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 145 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Portrait of Napoleon King of Italy, Andrea Appiani (1754-1817)
Portrait of a Young Girl with a Dove, Natale Schiavoni (1777-1858)
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist, Ubertini Francesco detto Bachiacca (1494-1557)
Portico in Ruins, Giovanni Migliara (1785-1837)
The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist, Marco d’Oggiono (1470-1525)
Portrait of a Lady, Giovanni Ambrogio De Predis (1455-1508)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 116 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus) f. 851 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 3 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Madonna Enthroned with Saint Ambrose and Saint Michael, Bartolomeo Suardi detto il Bramantino (1465-1530)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 117 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Flowers and Roses, Gaetano Previati (1852-1920)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 149 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Adoration of the Magi, Maestro del Santo Sangue (XVI secolo)
Still Life with Fruit, Isaac Soreau (1604-1638)
Naturalis Historia, Plinio il Vecchio (23-79 dC)
Allegory of Water, Jan Brueghel il Vecchio “Dei Velluti” (1568-1625)
Adoration of the Magi, Tiziano Vecellio (1480-1576)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 1069 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Madonna and Child with a Worshipper, Bernardino Betti detto il Pinturicchio (1454-1513)
The Placing of Christ in the Sepulchre, Tiziano Vecellio (1480-1576)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 858 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Noctes Atticae, Aulo Gellio
Mary Magdalene Penitent, Guido Reni (1575-1642)
Moses and the Brazen Serpent, Cesare Ligari (1716-1770)
Mouse with Roses, Jan Brueghel il Vecchio “Dei Velluti” (1568-1625)
Self Portrait, Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 29 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Jan II Brueghel il Giovane (1601-1678)
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Pietro Antonio Magatti (1691-1767)
The Dormition of the Virgin, Anonimo ferrarese (XV secolo)
Nautilus shell, Sconosciuto
The Damned Soul, Anonimo lombardo (XVII secolo)
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John, Bernardino Luini (1480-1532)
The infant Jesus with a Lamb, Bernardino Luini (1480-1532)
Allegorical Female Figure, Giovanni Serodine (1600-1631)
Seascape, Paul Bril (1554-1626)
Atlantic Codex (Codex Atlanticus), f. 860 recto, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Diana the Huntress, Joachim Friess (XVI-XVII secolo)
The Adoration of the Magi, Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli also known as Morazzone (1571-1626)
Flowers in a Vase, Jan Brueghel il Vecchio “Dei Velluti” (1568-1625)
Kids and Lambs, Francesco Londonio (1723-1783)
Judith and Holofernes, Giuseppe Vermiglio (1585-1635)
Ceremonial saddle and stirrups. Detail of the wooden horse of Troy, Arte armaiola milanese
Portrait of a Young Man, Vittore Ghislandi detto Frà Galgario (1655-1743)
The School of Athens, Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520)
Christ Crowned with Thorns, Bernardino Luini (1480-1532)
Christ Resurrected, Marco Basaiti (1470-1530)
Burse, Artista dell’Italia centrale
The Adoration of the Magi, Andrea Schiavone (1510-1563)
Christ on the Way to Calvary, Giovanni Busi detto Cariani (1480-1547)