Fernanda Wittgens documentary to premiere at Venice Film Festival

The documentary “Anatomia di un ritratto” (Anatomy of a Portrait), directed by Francesco Clerici and Mattia Colombo, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival within the Venice Days program. The film profiles the life of Fernanda Wittgens, the first woman to direct a major Italian museum, the Pinacoteca di Brera.

Wittgens is depicted as both a visionary art historian and a courageous anti-fascist activist. During World War II, she worked to protect masterpieces from bombings and assisted Jewish families and political refugees in fleeing to Switzerland. These actions led to her imprisonment by the Fascist Special Tribunal, though she was released after the war.

Due to the scarcity of visual archival footage, the filmmakers utilized Wittgens’ private letters and extensive research to reconstruct her voice. The production is an Italian-Swiss collaboration involving Rossofilm, Luce Cinecittà, and RSI – Radiotelevisione Svizzera.