Giosuè Sala detto il Saletta, Maria de Córdoba y Valcárcel, 1802, Milano, Ca’ Granda, inv. 154
Exhibition
Portraits of Inequalities Pittura di classe
Until November 9 2025
Milan holds a singular collection—remarkable in its scope—comprising more than 900 portraits of the benefactors of Ca’ Granda, the city’s principal hospital, founded in 1456. The collection began to take shape in the late sixteenth century and is still expanding today. Its homogeneity offers a unique opportunity to examine how the privileged classes have been portrayed over the centuries. This installation was made possible through an agreement with the Fondazione Policlinico, which has actively promoted this cultural heritage over the years, including the establishment of a dedicated museum that opened in 2019. On view are thirty portraits of men and women, created between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries, which recall the historic 1981 exhibition at Palazzo Reale, La Ca’ Granda: Cinque secoli di storia e d’arte dell’Ospedale Maggiore di Milano (The Ca’ Granda: Five Centuries of History and Art at Milan’s Ospedale Maggiore), curated by Giovanni Testori. This time, the collection of notable figures is observed from a different perspective—that of a representative of another social class, portrayed by Giacomo Ceruti, the painter often referred to as the “Homer of the poor.”
Credits
The project is part of the 24th International Exhibition Inequalities.
Curated by: Giovanni Agosti and Jacopo Stoppa
In collaboration with: Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico
Lighting Design: Pasquale Mari
International participations