The Adolfo Pini Foundation presents Destinazione Europa. Storie di quadri, stampe e mercanti dalla Milano dell’Ottocento, an exhibition project dedicated to the research of Martina Colombi, winner of the PINI ART PRIZE 2025/26, Research section.
Curated by Martina Colombi and Davide Dall’Ombra, the exhibition is realised as part of the PINI ART PRIZE 2025/26 – Ricerca and presents to the public the results of the research developed by the scholar. At the centre of the exhibition route is the doctoral thesis Milano e il mercato dell’arte nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento. Il ruolo degli antiquari, devoted to the networks of dealers, collectors and antiquarians who helped make Milan one of the most dynamic centres of the European art market.
In nineteenth-century Milan, paintings, objects and prints pass from hand to hand, cross borders and reach collectors and museums across Europe. Setting them on their journey is a lively network of dealers, connoisseurs, agents and collectors, who intertwine business and relationships between Milan and the main hubs of the international art market.