The protagonist of an important monographic collection, Pietro Chiesa (1858-1915) synthesises the trends in Swiss and Lombard painting between the 19th and 20th centuries and records their evolving identity. But the twentieth century is present in the collections of the Museo d'arte Mendrisio in both regional and international terms. To the former belong figures such as Giuseppe Foglia (1888-1950), Anita Spinelli (1908-2010), Edoardo Berta (1867-1931), Apollonio Pessina (1879-1958), Anita Nespoli (1894-1974), Jean Corty (1907-1946) and Ugo Cleis (1903-1976), among others, authors of intimate, naturalistic and visionary works.
The second group included Lorenzo Viani (1882-1936), for his civil themes, and Guido Gonzato (1896-1955), for his highly expressive figuration, as well as several important exponents of the Expressionist movement, including Marianne Werefkin (1860-1938), Samuel Wülser (1897-1977), Fritz Pauli (1891-1968), George Grosz (1893-1959) and Walter Kurt Wiemken (1907-1940).