Museo d'arte e scienza

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1990 by the physicist Gottfried Matthaes, who had left industry to devote himself to the recognition of forgeries in art. After a career in the printed circuit board sector, he had developed a more reliable dating method for over a thousand wooden objects in his collection, and he bought two floors of Palazzo Bonacossa, near the Castello Sforzesco, to create an educational museum on authenticity. It was originally called Museo del Collezionista d'Arte; today it bears its present name.

The collections originate in the painting school founded in Dresda in 1906 by Matthaes's aunt Gertrude Matthaes and her husband Walter Kurau, who assembled a teaching collection of Greco-Roman and Etruscan art. The Ministero per i Beni culturali (Ministry for Cultural Heritage) recognised it in 1997 as being of exceptional historical and cultural interest. In 2001 a section of African art was added, with over 300 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, followed later by Buddhist art from Thailand and Burma.

The museum houses the scientific laboratory “Arte Autentica”, specialised in spectroscopic dating. After the founder's death in 2010, management passed to his children, Peter and Patrizia, who also created the Associazione Amici del Museo d'Arte e Scienza. The route includes African art, East Asian Buddhist art, two educational exhibitions on Leonardo da Vinci and a route on authenticity in art and antiquities.

Highlights

• African art: statues, thrones, textiles, drums and masks
• Buddhist art from Thailand, Burma, China and Japan
• Two educational exhibitions on Leonardo da Vinci
• Route “Autenticità nell'arte” and scientific laboratory
• Sala degli Arazzi with tapestries from the 18th and 19th century

Permanent exhibitions

• Arte africana – Four rooms with statues, thrones, textiles, drums and masks from sub-Saharan Africa.
• Arte buddhista – Permanent display of East Asian Buddhist art: Thailand, Burma, China and Japan.
• Leonardo da Vinci – Two educational exhibitions: Leonardo's Milanese period and his Treatise on Painting.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Museo d'Arte e Scienza di G. Matthaes

Visitors per year

approx. 4,000

Admission & discounts

The website refers to a dedicated page for agreements with other bodies. Tickets are also available online.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Educational programmes and investigation games for schools and families; free admission up to age 12.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located in Palazzo Bonacossa, near the Castello Sforzesco.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Sala degli Arazzi, a vaulted room with tapestries from the 18th and 19th centuries, and equipment for conferences, events and concerts; Sala Goffredo and Sala Giovanna, with large windows overlooking the Castello Sforzesco, suitable for events and temporary exhibitions. Requests via the form on the website.

Plan your visit