Brera Museum in Milan

 Yesterday was a travel day, so not much to report except a visit to one of the finest museums in the world.

And by the way, if you're thinking of driving into Milan. Don't. Wow, what a stressful trip. At least I didn't dent the car or wreck or kill anyone. We finally parked in this crazy lot across from the hotel with the steepest, longest spiral ramp. If Dante's Inferno was up in the sky, this is how you would approach it.

But, on to the art. We got settled in to our great hotel room and then had a great lunch at the Galleria, one of those grand 19th-century steel and glass constructions. It's great just to sit and eat food that is better than it should be and watch the streams of tourists and passers by pass by.

After refreshing ourselves with risotto all Milanese, we walked to the Brera. The visit would be worth it just for this painting.

Technically stunning, this famous Mantegna is thematically powerful and almost unique in composition and intent.

There are, of course, many other masterworks at this museum. Here is a favorite by Bellini.

Colors, soft and perfect. Faces lovely. It's a pleasure just to look at this.

And here is a huge painting done by Bellini's brother, Gentile, and then finished by Giovanni. It depicts St. Mark preaching in an imaginary Alexandria, which lets him put in lots of exotic details such as the giraffe in the background on the right.

My favorite this trip was by Cima de Conegliano. I love the little putti or cherub or whatever with his very ambiguous expression. All of the details are rich and gorgeous.

And finally, here's a wild painting by Tintoretto, the Finding of the Body of Saint Mark. There's a lot going on, with the dead saint's body and then a doubled image of him alive. There's also a man possessed by demons (who looks a bit like Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein), and then the man cured by St. Mark. It's a lot to unpack.