Berlusconi's Art Collection (ctd.)
January 8 2024
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Guardian have published a follow up piece on news that former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi had amassed an enormous collection of paintings (all copies, it seems!). The article focuses on an interview with Lucas Vianini, who was the curator to the collection in the final years of the politician's life.
Some interesting passages include:
Berlusconi’s heirs inherited a vast empire including a football club, properties, yachts and his main asset, Mediaset, Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster, worth more than €6bn. The former premier also left behind artworks by Italian greats including Canaletto and Titian that hung on the walls of Villa San Martino.
...
[Vianini claimed] “Sgarbi [the previous valuer] was not very generous in his evaluation and he didn’t consider the important works among the collection,” he said. “Besides, the aim wasn’t about spending a million on a painting – Berlusconi had already done that. He chose the paintings for their beauty and pleasantness. The aim was to take a walk through many pictorial genres.”
Click on the link above to read the full article.
