Built in the seventeenth century, Palazzo Moroni is nestled within Bergamo’s historic center, surrounded by the Venetian walls recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2023, after a three-year restoration project, the Palazzo reopened its doors to the public. Acquired by FAI (the Italian Environmental Foundation) in 2019, it bears witness to the rich history of the family that lived there for centuries.
As part of the restoration of Palazzo Moroni, Haltadefinizione, with support from FAI, conducted gigapixel digitization of a selection of paintings, including masterpieces by Giovan Battista Moroni. The goal was to support FAI’s mission to create a digital archive of all of its collections.
The extraordinary ultra-high resolution images of works from Palazzo Moroni now enrich the Haltadefinizione Image Bank. With specially designed viewers, scholars and art lovers can zoom in and explore every detail in entirely new ways.
Among the newly digitized works, three stand out in particular: Giovan Battista Moroni’s Portrait of Gian Gerolamo Grumelli, Portrait of Isotta Brembati, and Portrait of an Elderly Woman Dressed in Black. Giovan Battista Moroni is recognized as one of the most prolific painters of sixteenth-century Italy, making a significant contribution to the development of portrait painting during the Renaissance.
Haltadefinizione’s digitizations make it possible to closely examine every detail of these exceptional portraits, which highlight Moroni’s dedication to capturing the individuality of his subjects and to showing the depth of their humanity. His influence extended to later generations of painters, well past his own lifetime. even Caravaggio drew inspiration from Moroni’s intensely realistic portraits in developing his own revolutionary style.
Digitization produces ultra-high resolution images that can be enlarged many times beyond their original size, without any loss of quality. This makes it possible to observe details practically invisible to the naked eye, such as subtle brushstrokes on the subject’s face. The technologies employed, certified by the Central Institute for Restoration, are of fundamental importance for monitoring the conservation status of works of art and for enhancing FAI’s collections through deeper study, comparative analysis, and new opportunities for research.
Ultra-high Resolution Replicas of the three portraits by Moroni
Among the outcomes of Haltadefinizione’s gigapixel digitization was the creation of exact replicas of the three portraits by Giovan Battista Moroni. These replicas are currently on display in the splendid Hall of the Golden Age in Palazzo Moroni, in place of the original paintings themselves. The three original paintings are temporarily featured in the exhibition “Moroni (1521-1580) Portrait Painting in His Time” at the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan, open until April 1, 2024.
Thanks to the replicas, visitors to Palazzo Moroni can still experience the beauty of Moroni’s art in its historic setting, even while the masterpieces are out on loan.
The digital transformation of the treasures of Palazzo Moroni is a valuable resource for the preservation and promotion of this FAI landmark. It ensures that future generations will have the opportunity to study Moroni’s legacy and his place in the evolution of sixteenth-century painting.
All the works digitized as part of this project, including Morini’s portraits, are now available in Haltadefinizione’s online Image Bank, at this link.
