As part of the 2026 Venetian Nights series forthe 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the documentary film *Anatomy of a Portrait*, dedicated to Fernanda Wittgens, the director of the Pinacoteca di Brera who saved works of art from bombing during World War II.
The film, directed by Francesco Clerici and Mattia Colombo, produced by Rossofilm, co-produced by Luce Cinecittà, Rough Cat, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera, and Lab 80 Film, and written by the two directors together with Giulia Cosentino, Eleonora Mazzoni, and Laura Sudiro, will be screened at the Sala Laguna in two showings: September 4 at 9:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A session with the audience, and September 5 at 1:00 p.m.
This Italian-Swiss co-production focuses on Fernanda Wittgens, a historian and art critic who served as the first director of the Pinacoteca di Brera. She joined the museum in 1928 and became its director within a few years. Courageous and forward-thinking, she found herself working during one of the most dramatic periods in Italian history: during World War II, she saved works of art from bombing raids and, at the same time, helped politically persecuted individuals and Jewish families escape the regime’s persecution. Her anti-fascist activism led to her arrest and imprisonment. After the Liberation, Wittgens returned to devote herself to the reconstruction of Brera, working to restore the city’s cultural institution and to champion a vision of the museum as an open, accessible space for everyone. Despite the pioneering nature of her work, she gradually faded into obscurity after her death.
It is precisely from this absence that the film takes shape; it does not merely seek to reconstruct the biography of the director of Brera, but aims to bring her voice to life through the traces she left behind.
Actress Sara Drago lends her body and voice to Wittgens’ letters, while art historian Giovanna Ginex contributes to the reconstruction of her persona and historical context. The directors thus sought to create a space for dialogue where memory, interpretation, and the present converge, to portray a living presence capable of challenging the contemporary audience.
The documentary thus also becomes a reflection on the way memory is constructed, transmitted, and sometimes lost, bringing back into the spotlight a woman who played a fundamental role in safeguarding Italy’s artistic heritage and defending civic values during the years of Fascism.
“When producer Marco Malfi first told us about Fernanda Wittgens,” said the two directors, Francesco Clerici and Mattia Colombo, “we were immediately fascinated. At a time marked by the resurgence of nationalism and the persistence of patriarchy, her story struck us as extraordinarily relevant, while also presenting a fascinating challenge: to build a film from what is missing—from the near-total absence of images depicting her. How could we tell her story starting almost from nothing? And, as men, how could we approach her experience with the right perspective? That’s why we brought in actress Sara Drago and art historian Giovanna Ginex, spending a week together in the studio, working together to restore her voice and construct a portrait of her that is both rigorous and intimate. Following in Wittgenstein’s footsteps, the project evolved into a reflection on the biopic genre itself: the centrality of the archive and historical reconstruction gradually dissolve into the present, making way for a vital engagement with the pressing issues of our time.”
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| Anatomy of a Portrait: A Documentary in Venice on Fernanda Wittgens, the Director Who Saved Brera |
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