Bernardo Bellotto, The Palazzo of the Jurists and Milan's Court of Justice, oil on canvas, 1744 (inv. n. 1506)

Painted around 1744, the work is part of a small but extraordinary nucleus of agricultural urban landscapes from northern Italy. The series is of particular importance for the precision of the landscapes and the unusual choice of subjects, capturing the spirit of pre-enlightenment: and acting as a witness to human activity working in harmony with nature. The original vertical arrangement of the canvas sheds light onto an area of the Lombard city that is still central, as well as being the seat of monuments of great importance in the civic history of Milan. The artist's particular sensibility can be appreciated in the choice of formal construction and the use of colour: the deeply shaded area at the centre of the painting and the broad open sky allow the complex articulation of the buildings to emerge. Between these buildings winds an artery, that of via Mercanti, populated by groups of workers and passers by. The work, bought in 1998, completes the genres of scenery painting possessed by the Gallery.