Sir Charles Eastlake, the National Gallery and Milan: A study in connoisseurial networks

Abstract

Abstract The first director of the National Gallery in London, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793–1865), was an Italophile. His favourite Italian city was Venice, where he once thought of buying a second home. The city he knew best, having lived there for fourteen years from 1816, was Rome. However, between 1854 and 1864, Eastlake made twenty-three trips to Milan, meaning that during his decade as director of the National Gallery from 1855, he visited Milan more often than any other place. This article suggests that Milan became a crucial hub for Eastlake, as the place where he connected with individuals who played important roles in several interconnected areas. Milan was significant, first, as an area rich in private collections, offering fertile ground for the discovery of potential acquisitions and a place from where it was relatively easy to export paintings because German-speaking Austria, which occupied north Italy and the Veneto until 1866, was comparatively lax about imposing export restrictions; second, as a place where art-historical knowledge and connoisseurship could be developed; and third, as a leading centre of picture conservation and framing.