The paper examines the dispersal of the Grimani family’s painting collection from Santa Maria Formosa during the first half of the nineteenth century. Drawing on archival sources and historical accounts, it highlights the process of musealization of the palace between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the subsequent sale of artworks, emphasizing the roles of Virginia Chigi Albani and Michele Grimani. Particular attention is given to an octagonal painting now housed at Kingston Lacy in England, acquired by its owner in 1851. The study proposes the painting’s original placement in the Sala del Camino of Palazzo Grimani, offering insights into the decorative and cultural layout of the residence during the sixteenth century.
This paper addresses the issue of Venetian collecting in the nineteenth century, a field that has been little explored and long influenced by the historiographical paradigm of post-Serenissima decadence. By undertaking a critical re-reading of extant literature and sources, the essay identifies the principal interpretative distortions and persistent methodological gaps in studies in this field. The article then outlines several research lines aimed at problematically reconstructing the phenomenon of collecting, considering private and public forms, the processes of musealisation of artistic heritage, and the impact of the socio-economic and institutional transformations of the Habsburg era.
The paper examines the dispersal of the Grimani family’s painting collection from Santa Maria Formosa during the first half of the nineteenth century. Drawing on archival sources and historical accounts, it highlights the process of musealization of the palace between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the subsequent sale of artworks, emphasizing the roles of Virginia Chigi Albani and Michele Grimani. Particular attention is given to an octagonal painting now housed at Kingston Lacy in England, acquired by its owner in 1851. The study proposes the painting’s original placement in the Sala del Camino of Palazzo Grimani, offering insights into the decorative and cultural layout of the residence during the sixteenth century.
This paper addresses the issue of Venetian collecting in the nineteenth century, a field that has been little explored and long influenced by the historiographical paradigm of post-Serenissima decadence. By undertaking a critical re-reading of extant literature and sources, the essay identifies the principal interpretative distortions and persistent methodological gaps in studies in this field. The article then outlines several research lines aimed at problematically reconstructing the phenomenon of collecting, considering private and public forms, the processes of musealisation of artistic heritage, and the impact of the socio-economic and institutional transformations of the Habsburg era.
Pietro Palmaroli was the most famous restorer in Rome in the early nineteenth century, where he carried out most of his professional activity, although his prestige reached international resonance, including in the Spanish sphere. He was a multifaceted figure who left some writings about his work, although only on rare occasions did he detail the materials and methodology used, such as a previously unknown method of pictorial consolidation. Considered an expert in ancient painting, he was also involved in activities related to the dynamic art market of the time. In this article, we will present part of his work in the years preceding his famous restoration of the Deposizione by Volterra and examine his relationship with the Spanish authorities.
This research focuses on the prominent artists Berthe Morisot, Elmina Moisán, Georges Achille-Fould, Judith Alpi, Katsushika Ōi, Mary Cassatt, and Uemura Shōen. They had notable recognition in Chile, France, and Japan between 1850 and 1934, a period that was characterized by global interconnectivity. The popularity of Japan amongst women demonstrate their artistic interests internationally and it also contributes significantly to the global female culture and dialogue of the time. The aim of this paper is to link these modern women artists through their art, which represented women’s domestic sphere inspired by Japanese prints.
No one more than Antonio Diedo can be considered the embodiment of the Academy of Fine Arts in the early nineteenth century thanks to his forty years of service to the Venetian institution as perpetual secretary and professor of aesthetics. Since 1807 Diedo had been appointed by the french government to be part of a special commission charged with identifying the state of conservation of the works contained within churches and public buildings of the city. This essay focuses on the reports compiled by Diedo in the first decades of the nineteenth century in order to establish and organize the transfer of many works from their original places to the academy for their conservation and valorization.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, neo-Gothic was used to renew Catholic architecture and art in Chile. The first manifestations of admiration for Gothic in the country can be found in three travel diary published in the middle of the century. Their appearance and circulation preceded the construction of the first churches inspired by the Gothic style. This article sets out to analyse the arguments of these three travellers and to understand them in the context of the artistic and religious discussions of the time.
This article offers preliminary reflections on the dispersal of classical sculptures between Venice and Europe, suggesting that further research might benefit from the integration of digital humanities and archaeometric approaches. Through three case studies ‒ the Adorant of Berlin, the Grimani Vitellius, and the Laborde Head ‒ it considers the potential of such methodologies for advancing understanding of provenance, circulation, and reception, while also drawing attention to patterns of collecting and cultural exchange.
This article is based on the theory that John Ruskin (1819‑1900) attributed a male gaze to decaying architecture in his writings and described it with feminine characteristics. Decaying architecture symbolizes ideal virginity, which can only be destroyed by a falsifying restoration. This reading of Ruskin’s writings will be linked to a critical history of architecture that examines architecture in its patriarchal normativity. Building on this link, a feminist reading of the history of monument conservation will be formulated.
This essay explores the concept of adaptation in John Ruskin’s work, revealing its relevance for architecture and heritage conservation. It argues that Ruskin’s views on adaptation are more nuanced than often perceived, encompassing the natural harmony between buildings and environment, the patina of time, and the expression of national identity. The study relates Ruskin’s ideas to contemporary conservation challenges, suggesting that his philosophy of adaptation offers valuable insights for sustainable heritage management. By reinterpreting Ruskin’s thought, the essay proposes a framework that balances preservation with inevitable change, inviting a reconsideration of conservation practices in light of Ruskinian principles.
This article considers briefly the main academic news on Vittore Carpaccio that has appeared in recent years. It then focuses on the recent publication of John Ruskin’s volume, Guide to the Principal Pictures in the Academy of Fine Arts at Venice, edited by Paul Tucker (Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, 2023). The article in particular examines the relationship between Ruskin and Carpaccio, analysing the evolving perspective of the English art historian on this remarkable painter, who was profoundly influenced by his personal experiences.
Writer, painter, poet, art critic and more, John Ruskin was undoubtedly a key figure in nineteenth‑century European culture (and beyond), whose multifaceted nature has been able to catalyse the interests of generations of scholars, even from distant backgrounds. Despite the numerous publications that have appeared on him over the years, Ruskin does not seem to have exhausted his appeal, lending himself – perhaps more than other figures of his time – to a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discourse on the arts in the broadest sense of the term.
As an architect and philosopher respectively, we have written a two‑part text (architectural‑philosophical) that would present the main outlines and figures of writing about architecture and architectural writing in John Ruskin. His endeavour to describe buildings and cities transformed into an imperative to find ‘the substance of the architectural’, simultaneously preserving the utmost significance of its ontological aspect, that is, change. We reconstruct Ruskin’s understanding of various protocols of ‘change’ in two different ways: first, within the general difficulty in the histories of Western culture and thought to determine ‘change’ (which is certainly not a Western invention), and where Ruskin’s contribution is crucial. Further, we understand Ruskin’s project as being in a state of tension between continuous amendment of his written description of buildings, while defending the paradoxical intransience of change that goes beyond the objects in which it is manifested. Ruskin’s method of endless correction and revision thus becomes an introduction to the preservation of the unadaptable and unchanging, and then also the beautiful.
This article is based on the theory that John Ruskin (1819‑1900) attributed a male gaze to decaying architecture in his writings and described it with feminine characteristics. Decaying architecture symbolizes ideal virginity, which can only be destroyed by a falsifying restoration. This reading of Ruskin’s writings will be linked to a critical history of architecture that examines architecture in its patriarchal normativity. Building on this link, a feminist reading of the history of monument conservation will be formulated.
Antonio Agosti was born and raised in Belluno, where he became one of the most prominent figures of the city during the first half of the nineteenth century. Despite this, his life and work have not yet been fully investigated. Agosti served as the city’s podestà for fourteen years and is remembered for his unusual passion for the fine arts, which led him to write two travel notebooks about Belluno and its province between 1819 and 1829. In addition to presenting the manuscripts, the article aims to reconstruct the count’s private collection, which consisted primarily of Venetian paintings from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. These paintings, which spanned the works of Antonio da Tisoi to Giambattista Tiepolo, were acquired by the count over the course of his lifetime.
This article analyses how Ruskin’s texts were interpreted in Spanish architectural restoration, especially during the 1980s. Ruskin’s influence impacted early twentieth‑century Spanish culture, but it was forgotten during Franco’s regime. Ruskin’s ideas resurfaced in the democratic 1980s. Spanish theorists like Antón Capitel and Ignasi de Solà‑Morales, among others, reinterpreted Ruskin’s principles to shape their theories, recognizing his influence in notable Spanish architectural achievements of the time.
This essay explores the concept of adaptation in John Ruskin’s work, revealing its relevance for architecture and heritage conservation. It argues that Ruskin’s views on adaptation are more nuanced than often perceived, encompassing the natural harmony between buildings and environment, the patina of time, and the expression of national identity. The study relates Ruskin’s ideas to contemporary conservation challenges, suggesting that his philosophy of adaptation offers valuable insights for sustainable heritage management. By reinterpreting Ruskin’s thought, the essay proposes a framework that balances preservation with inevitable change, inviting a reconsideration of conservation practices in light of Ruskinian principles.
The article examines some less known documentary aspects of the discovery of the mosaics ‘of the Athletes’ in the two exedra of the Baths of Caracalla in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Starting from the documents (most of them still unpublished) found in the State Archives in Rome and in the Bertoliana Library in Vicenza, the article focuses on the history of the archaeological objects kept in the storerooms of the Vatican Museums and in the Baths of Caracalla, which were given to the discoverer of the Athletes, Girolamo Egidio di Velo, as compensation for the mosaics. In this way it is possible to give a brief account of the history of the storerooms of the Vatican Museums.
