Papers/Articles by Stefano Balbiani
Quaderni grigionitaliani, 2024
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Arte Lombarda, 2022
Paolo Landriani (1757-1839), scenographer and architect, active in Lombardy between the 18th and ... more Paolo Landriani (1757-1839), scenographer and architect, active in Lombardy between the 18th and 19th centuries, mainly worked for Brera Academy and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Therefore, his being a scenographer is well documented in about one hundred and twenty drawings collected by the publisher Giuseppe Vallardi in 1840, drawings brought together in four albums kept at the Gabinetto dei Disegni of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. Some stage sets and perspectives present in D 14 of the Vallardi albums, among them unpublished ones, are the main topic of the essay in which a comparison is also made with drawings by Landriani himself kept at the of Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe of Brera Academy and with some 19th century engravings belonging to the Civica Raccolta delle Stampe Achille Bertarelli of Milan. By analysing such drawings, a common style and technique characteristics of Paolo Landriani are clear, i.e. an authentic neoclassical language, a special attention to ornamentation, the employment of brush and brown and grey wash, and a wiser use of light to convey atmosphere.
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Ricerche storiche sulla Chiesa ambrosiana, 2022
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Rassegna di Studi e di Notizie, 2020
Questioning the attribution of fourteen unpublished drawings kept at the Department of Drawings i... more Questioning the attribution of fourteen unpublished drawings kept at the Department of Drawings inside the Sforzesco Castle in Milan is the main aim of our contribution.
In the inventory of the Thirties, XX century, after the will of Giorgio Nicodemi, these works were attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi, an artist, collector and merchant in late baroque in Milan.
However, after a scrupulous, dedicated stylistic and sign analysis only three out of fourteen works, drawn in red pencil and of various subjects, are to be thought authentically his; one belongs to the fund owned by the Fabbriceria of St Maria at St Celso, purchased in 1924 by the City of Milan; one of them is of unknown provenience and one, which belonged to the collection of Paolo Gaffuri, has been included in the Civic Milanese collections since 1931.
The remaining eleven drawings, made with different techniques, do not clearly belong to the Artist.
Such additions to the catalogue of Besozzi, based on a well distinguishable modelling ductus, are important to better define his profile as a drawer together with his graphic activity.
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Arte Lombarda, 2020
The handwritten guidebook, 1739 Raccolta delle pitture de’ celebri maestri antiche, e d’autori mo... more The handwritten guidebook, 1739 Raccolta delle pitture de’ celebri maestri antiche, e d’autori moderni preserved at the biblioteca Ambrosiana (M 65 suss.), has been known so far in an 19th century transcription kept at the biblioteca Capitolare in Milan, probably commissioned by Aristide Sala. During the 19th century the volume was first owned by Michele Caffi and then by Luca Beltrami who donated it to the Ambrosiana in 1906. The booklet lists and collects the paintings that were in churches and in some public and private palaces in that period in Milan; by comparing the coeval guidebooks made by the Santagostino brothers, by Torre, Biffi and Latuada remarkable elements have appeared: the importance given to architectural quadratures, decorations and to 17th and 18th centuries minor artists, mostly Lombard; inspection visits of both the convents and church sacristies; a very peculiar focus on the series of paintings dedicated and to lives of saints and on the restorations; the presence of several works, most of which today untraceable. the article finally presents two works attributed to Camillo Procaccini and to Agostino Santagostino. The anonymous author of the guidebook is himself a painter and a restorer, perhaps a clergyman who basically integrated the documents Santagostino and Latuada had written.
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Archivi di Lecco e della Provincia. Rivista di Storia e Cultura del Territorio, 2021
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Grafica d'arte, 2021
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Arte Lombarda, 2018
Several ecclesiastical bodies were abolished under the reign of Maria Theresa and Napoleon: such ... more Several ecclesiastical bodies were abolished under the reign of Maria Theresa and Napoleon: such dissolutions caused the dispersion of plenty of art works. In Como the Dominican church of San Giovanni Pedemonte is a major example: it was unhallowed in 1810 and destroyed in 1814. The altarpiece analysed in this essay, with the Martyrdom of St Peter Martyr, comes from there; it was restored in 2017 and it is now on show at the Pinacoteca Civica in Como. The ancona is a replica of a Venetian original canvas by Titian dating ca 1528-1530 burnt in the nineteenth century; it was on show in St Peter Martyr’s chapel with two oil paintings made by Cristoforo Caresana and Giovanni Paolo Ghianda. The ancona is mentioned in many lists and inventories of the nineteenth century as a property of Como town; it was consigned first to Como Cathedral, then to the Crocifisso church, and it is also reproduced by Giovanni Maria Tagliaferri’s engraving of 1844.
The latest restoration has proved the high quality of this replica: the artist used a very valuable colour as the lapis lazuli blue, making visible its red base; on the canvas there is also a protein essence, perhaps tempera. Giovanni Battista Giovio attributed the painting to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi (1648-1706) in his book Como and the Lario, released in 1795: which is in our view a convincing attribution. The attribution to Ambrogio Besozzi is proved on the basis of stylistic comparisons with other paintings by the same artist: this supplement to the catalog of our painter is important, because it is the first evidence of a work of Ambrogio Besozzi in Como area, as well as the hypothesis of a trip to Venice of our Painter in order to examine Titian’s altarpiece.
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Arte Lombarda, 2017
The main aim of this essay is the publication of the first catalogue raisonné of Ambrogio Besozzi... more The main aim of this essay is the publication of the first catalogue raisonné of Ambrogio Besozzi’s drawings by following a rigorous method of classification which, in addition, implies where possible the reconsideration of their certain attribution to our Artist.
The search starts with a letter sent by Father Sebastiano Resta to Lanzani; such a letter is written on the verso of a red chalk sketch showing The Cast in Bronze Serpent preserved at the Ambrosiana Library and wrongly attributed to Besozzi.
Some relationships between Father Resta and Andrea Lanzani and then between Lanzani and Carlo Maratti are clearly inferred from the letter in which Besozzi and Federico Maccagno themselves are also mentioned.
The four pen sketches on white paper of Warsaw’s Bonola Code, eight drawings of both profane and sacred subject at the Ambrosiana Library and a small charcoal portrait belonging to the Malaspina Gallery in Pavia are, with no doubt, attributable to our Milanese Artist.
Other drawings at the Ambrosiana Library, once believed Besozzi’s own works, are now rejected from his corpus.
Finally this essay mentions some Besozzi’s graphic works which are hard to be traced, that is, four drawings sold by auction in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and several preparatory studies for prints and engravings.
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Archivi di Lecco e della Provincia. Rivista di Storia e Cultura del Territorio, 2017
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Archivi di Lecco e della Provincia. Rivista di Storia e Cultura del Territorio, 2015
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Books by Stefano Balbiani
L'Allegoria della vita umana di Giorgio Ghisi. Classico e anticlassico in una stampa tra Mantova, Anversa e Parigi alla metà del Cinquecento, 2023
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C'era una volta in Lombardia...la Pataria, i Pattarini. Mille anni di storie padane raccolte da Casto Pattarini, 2017
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Reviews by Stefano Balbiani
Archivi di Lecco e della Provincia. Rivista di Storia e di Cultura del Territorio, 2023
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Archivi di Lecco e della Provincia. Rivista di Storia e Cultura del Territorio, 2018
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Catalogue entries by Stefano Balbiani
Dürer e gli altri. Rinascimenti in riva all'Adige, 2024
Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Martin Schongauer, "Orazione nell'orto degli ulivi", pp. 328-3... more Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Martin Schongauer, "Orazione nell'orto degli ulivi", pp. 328-329;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cava", pp. 330-331;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo penitente", pp. 332-333;
- Albrecht Dürer, "La penitenza di san Giovanni Crisostomo", pp. 334-335;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cristo sul monte degli ulivi", pp. 336-337;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo nella grotta", pp. 338-339
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La Sala delle Asse del Castello Sforzesco. Leonardo da Vinci. All'ombra del Moro, 2019
Genealogia dei Visconti-Sforza; testi delle schede per il catalogo scientifico della mostra "Into... more Genealogia dei Visconti-Sforza; testi delle schede per il catalogo scientifico della mostra "Intorno alla Sala delle Asse. Leonardo tra Natura, Arte e Scienza"; indice dei nomi.
Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Allegoria dello specchio solare", pp. 212-213;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Studio del cuore e dell'arteria polmonare di un bue", pp. 214-215;
- Cesare da Sesto, "Un albero", pp. 216-217;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Calendula di palude (Caltha palustris) e Anemone dei boschi (Anemone nemorosa)", pp. 218-219;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Due salici", pp. 220-221;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Tempesta su un paesaggio collinare", pp. 222-223;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Sant'Antonio e san Paolo in un paesaggio boscoso", pp. 224-225;
- Piero di Cosimo, "San Girolamo penitente in un paesaggio roccioso", pp. 226-227;
- Artista leonardesco, "Paesaggio con grande nuvola", pp. 228-229
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Le finzioni del potere. L'Arco Trionfale di Albrecht Dürer per Massimiliano I d'Asburgo tra Milano e l'Impero, 2019
Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Gaspare Osello, "Bianca Maria Sforza e Maria di Borgogna", pp.... more Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Gaspare Osello, "Bianca Maria Sforza e Maria di Borgogna", pp. 180-181;
- Hans Burgkmair, "Il desiderio del giovane re bianco di apprendere la magia nera e quindi il divino, suo opposto", pp. 204-205;
- Théodor de Bry, "Ritratto di Willibald Pirckheimer", pp. 238-239
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Papers/Articles by Stefano Balbiani
In the inventory of the Thirties, XX century, after the will of Giorgio Nicodemi, these works were attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi, an artist, collector and merchant in late baroque in Milan.
However, after a scrupulous, dedicated stylistic and sign analysis only three out of fourteen works, drawn in red pencil and of various subjects, are to be thought authentically his; one belongs to the fund owned by the Fabbriceria of St Maria at St Celso, purchased in 1924 by the City of Milan; one of them is of unknown provenience and one, which belonged to the collection of Paolo Gaffuri, has been included in the Civic Milanese collections since 1931.
The remaining eleven drawings, made with different techniques, do not clearly belong to the Artist.
Such additions to the catalogue of Besozzi, based on a well distinguishable modelling ductus, are important to better define his profile as a drawer together with his graphic activity.
The latest restoration has proved the high quality of this replica: the artist used a very valuable colour as the lapis lazuli blue, making visible its red base; on the canvas there is also a protein essence, perhaps tempera. Giovanni Battista Giovio attributed the painting to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi (1648-1706) in his book Como and the Lario, released in 1795: which is in our view a convincing attribution. The attribution to Ambrogio Besozzi is proved on the basis of stylistic comparisons with other paintings by the same artist: this supplement to the catalog of our painter is important, because it is the first evidence of a work of Ambrogio Besozzi in Como area, as well as the hypothesis of a trip to Venice of our Painter in order to examine Titian’s altarpiece.
The search starts with a letter sent by Father Sebastiano Resta to Lanzani; such a letter is written on the verso of a red chalk sketch showing The Cast in Bronze Serpent preserved at the Ambrosiana Library and wrongly attributed to Besozzi.
Some relationships between Father Resta and Andrea Lanzani and then between Lanzani and Carlo Maratti are clearly inferred from the letter in which Besozzi and Federico Maccagno themselves are also mentioned.
The four pen sketches on white paper of Warsaw’s Bonola Code, eight drawings of both profane and sacred subject at the Ambrosiana Library and a small charcoal portrait belonging to the Malaspina Gallery in Pavia are, with no doubt, attributable to our Milanese Artist.
Other drawings at the Ambrosiana Library, once believed Besozzi’s own works, are now rejected from his corpus.
Finally this essay mentions some Besozzi’s graphic works which are hard to be traced, that is, four drawings sold by auction in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and several preparatory studies for prints and engravings.
Books by Stefano Balbiani
Reviews by Stefano Balbiani
Catalogue entries by Stefano Balbiani
- Martin Schongauer, "Orazione nell'orto degli ulivi", pp. 328-329;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cava", pp. 330-331;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo penitente", pp. 332-333;
- Albrecht Dürer, "La penitenza di san Giovanni Crisostomo", pp. 334-335;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cristo sul monte degli ulivi", pp. 336-337;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo nella grotta", pp. 338-339
Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Allegoria dello specchio solare", pp. 212-213;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Studio del cuore e dell'arteria polmonare di un bue", pp. 214-215;
- Cesare da Sesto, "Un albero", pp. 216-217;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Calendula di palude (Caltha palustris) e Anemone dei boschi (Anemone nemorosa)", pp. 218-219;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Due salici", pp. 220-221;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Tempesta su un paesaggio collinare", pp. 222-223;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Sant'Antonio e san Paolo in un paesaggio boscoso", pp. 224-225;
- Piero di Cosimo, "San Girolamo penitente in un paesaggio roccioso", pp. 226-227;
- Artista leonardesco, "Paesaggio con grande nuvola", pp. 228-229
- Gaspare Osello, "Bianca Maria Sforza e Maria di Borgogna", pp. 180-181;
- Hans Burgkmair, "Il desiderio del giovane re bianco di apprendere la magia nera e quindi il divino, suo opposto", pp. 204-205;
- Théodor de Bry, "Ritratto di Willibald Pirckheimer", pp. 238-239
In the inventory of the Thirties, XX century, after the will of Giorgio Nicodemi, these works were attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi, an artist, collector and merchant in late baroque in Milan.
However, after a scrupulous, dedicated stylistic and sign analysis only three out of fourteen works, drawn in red pencil and of various subjects, are to be thought authentically his; one belongs to the fund owned by the Fabbriceria of St Maria at St Celso, purchased in 1924 by the City of Milan; one of them is of unknown provenience and one, which belonged to the collection of Paolo Gaffuri, has been included in the Civic Milanese collections since 1931.
The remaining eleven drawings, made with different techniques, do not clearly belong to the Artist.
Such additions to the catalogue of Besozzi, based on a well distinguishable modelling ductus, are important to better define his profile as a drawer together with his graphic activity.
The latest restoration has proved the high quality of this replica: the artist used a very valuable colour as the lapis lazuli blue, making visible its red base; on the canvas there is also a protein essence, perhaps tempera. Giovanni Battista Giovio attributed the painting to Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi (1648-1706) in his book Como and the Lario, released in 1795: which is in our view a convincing attribution. The attribution to Ambrogio Besozzi is proved on the basis of stylistic comparisons with other paintings by the same artist: this supplement to the catalog of our painter is important, because it is the first evidence of a work of Ambrogio Besozzi in Como area, as well as the hypothesis of a trip to Venice of our Painter in order to examine Titian’s altarpiece.
The search starts with a letter sent by Father Sebastiano Resta to Lanzani; such a letter is written on the verso of a red chalk sketch showing The Cast in Bronze Serpent preserved at the Ambrosiana Library and wrongly attributed to Besozzi.
Some relationships between Father Resta and Andrea Lanzani and then between Lanzani and Carlo Maratti are clearly inferred from the letter in which Besozzi and Federico Maccagno themselves are also mentioned.
The four pen sketches on white paper of Warsaw’s Bonola Code, eight drawings of both profane and sacred subject at the Ambrosiana Library and a small charcoal portrait belonging to the Malaspina Gallery in Pavia are, with no doubt, attributable to our Milanese Artist.
Other drawings at the Ambrosiana Library, once believed Besozzi’s own works, are now rejected from his corpus.
Finally this essay mentions some Besozzi’s graphic works which are hard to be traced, that is, four drawings sold by auction in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and several preparatory studies for prints and engravings.
- Martin Schongauer, "Orazione nell'orto degli ulivi", pp. 328-329;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cava", pp. 330-331;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo penitente", pp. 332-333;
- Albrecht Dürer, "La penitenza di san Giovanni Crisostomo", pp. 334-335;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Cristo sul monte degli ulivi", pp. 336-337;
- Albrecht Dürer, "San Girolamo nella grotta", pp. 338-339
Schede all'interno del catalogo:
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Allegoria dello specchio solare", pp. 212-213;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Studio del cuore e dell'arteria polmonare di un bue", pp. 214-215;
- Cesare da Sesto, "Un albero", pp. 216-217;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Calendula di palude (Caltha palustris) e Anemone dei boschi (Anemone nemorosa)", pp. 218-219;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Due salici", pp. 220-221;
- Leonardo da Vinci, "Tempesta su un paesaggio collinare", pp. 222-223;
- Albrecht Dürer, "Sant'Antonio e san Paolo in un paesaggio boscoso", pp. 224-225;
- Piero di Cosimo, "San Girolamo penitente in un paesaggio roccioso", pp. 226-227;
- Artista leonardesco, "Paesaggio con grande nuvola", pp. 228-229
- Gaspare Osello, "Bianca Maria Sforza e Maria di Borgogna", pp. 180-181;
- Hans Burgkmair, "Il desiderio del giovane re bianco di apprendere la magia nera e quindi il divino, suo opposto", pp. 204-205;
- Théodor de Bry, "Ritratto di Willibald Pirckheimer", pp. 238-239