Ettore Modigliani

Who was Ettore Modigliani?

Ettore Modigliani was an Italian functionary.

He was director of the Pinacoteca di Brera from 1908 to 1934 and during this period was particularly attentive to the work of the Venetian school, by purchasing some paintings for the gallery of Canaletto.

In 1910 he was appointed Superintendent of the Galleries, Museums and Medieval and Modern works of art in Milan in 1925 while in 1925 he was appointed Superintendent of Monuments of Lombardy. In 1926 he was appointed Superintendent of the Certosa di Pavia.

In 1930 Modigliani was appointed Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for the realization of the exhibition of Italian art at Burlington House in London. He never joined the Fascist Party in 1935 as Superintendent is moved Aquila degli Abruzzi Medieval and Modern Art. Of Jewish origin, in 1939, following the adoption of the racial laws, was expelled by the administration of the state. By partnering with Fernanda Wittgens, who lent his name for publication, he wrote "The Mentor" in these years.

During the war years he escaped by hiding in the countryside of central Italy with his family to avoid being sent to concentration camps. In 1946 he was reinstated to the Brera and Brera deals with the reconstruction of destroyed by bombing. He contacted the architect Piero Portaluppi, with whom he had worked in the '20s for the relocation of the gallery, and it opened in September 1946 at Little Brera. A small portion of the gallery were miraculously saved from the bombs, with some exhibits of the collection Braidense.