Milan, two major exhibitions in autumn 2026: Brueghel at Palazzo Reale and Matisse at MUDEC

Autumn 2026 promises to be full of events for art lovers visiting Milan. Between the end of September and the beginning of October, two important exhibitions dedicated to some of the protagonists of European art history will open: 

• "The Brueghels. The origins of pictorial genres in Europe", scheduled at Palazzo Reale from 29 September 2026 to 31 January 2027, 

• "Matisse. The world in a room", hosted at the MUDEC - Museum of Cultures from 8 October 2026 to 21 February 2027.

   

Two exhibitions of international scope that enrich the cultural offer of the city and represent an opportunity to discover, through almost two hundred works from prestigious international collections and museums, the evolution of European painting between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.

Palazzo Reale tells the story of the Brueghel dynasty

The first major Italian exhibition dedicated to the Brueghels offers a journey through three generations of the famous Flemish family that helped transform European painting. The exhibition, a project by Bernard Aikema curated by Carlotta Striolo, brings together over 80 works including paintings, drawings and prints and highlights the role played by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder in the development of what would become the main genres of modern painting.

From snowy landscapes to scenes of peasant life, from still lifes to battles and sea views, the exhibition highlights how the Brueghel family laid the foundations of landscape painting, still life and genre scenes that will characterize the European artistic production of the seventeenth century.

MUDEC dedicates a major exhibition to Henri Matisse

A few days later, the MUDEC will inaugurate "Matisse. The world in a room", an exhibition project that analyzes the dialogue between Henri Matisse and the cultures encountered during his travels and studies. Curated by Ellen McBreen and Chiara Gatti, the exhibition brings together about 100 works, including paintings, sculptures and works on paper, from important international museums such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée de l'Orangerie, the Musée Picasso, the Musée du Quai Branly and the Musée Matisse in Nice.

Through eight thematic sections, the itinerary highlights the contribution of African, Islamic, Russian, Chinese and Pacific cultures to the construction of Matisse's artistic language, proposing a reinterpretation of his work in the light of the most recent research on the relationship between modern art and non-European cultural influences.

For those planning a stay in Milan between autumn and winter, the two exhibitions represent an opportunity to enrich the visit to the city with a high-level cultural itinerary, confirming the Lombard capital as one of the main Italian destinations for major art exhibitions.