Portrait of Santina Zamiri Bianchi

Santina Zamiri Bianchi, abandoned by her mother at birth, is a "colombina": this is how the exposed Milanese were nicknamed, with reference to the dove that appears in the sign of the Ospedale Maggiore, an institution where babies were abandoned and welcomed. Given in foster care to a peasant family from Brebbia (Varese), she marries a street vendor and she makes the "pattera", that is buying and selling used clothes in the markets. The two manage to scrape together a small capital and start a modest family business, to the point that, in 1936, having been widowed, in the will she can allocate 100,000 lire to the hospital. Despite having the right to the full-length portrait, she prefers, for modesty, the lower measure. The commission is entrusted to Piero Todeschini, an artist expressly requested by her. The Artistic Commission of the Hospital asks him numerous modifications, and yet accepts the painting continuing to criticize it, especially in the general setting "which lacks the nobility required for the Quadreria Ospedaliera". In a period photograph, preserved in the Archive of the Hospital, the painting appears in its first draft, when a curtain and a small square still appeared, depicting the central courtyard of the Sforza building and the armchair had a different shape. The modified work is undoubtedly clearer and more incisive and highlights the figure of the benefactor, plastically well built.