The article presents an unpublished letter written by Fabio Chigi to his uncle Agostino in September 1631 while the prelate was vice-apostolic legate in Ferrara in the retinue of Cardinal Giulio Sacchetti. The letter refers to two famous works by Guido Reni and Guercino, the 'Rape of Helen' and the 'Death of Dido', of which Chigi provides a penetrating stylistic interpretation. This text not only further corroborates the dating of the two canvases, but also offers up new material that invites investigation into the author's 'connoisseurship', of which an overall reading is proposed, partly in the light of what is already known on the subject.
Index
Santina Novelli
The 'Lady's Room': painting genre and commissioning of a profane wall decoration in Florence in the second half of the 14th century
read abstract » pp. 3-19
read abstract » pp. 3-19
Mattia Barana
The origin of the Oxford University Galleries and the vie devant soi of William T.H. Fox Strangways bequest
read abstract » pp. 20-33
read abstract » pp. 20-33
Bruna Bianco
Two sculptures by Agnolo di Ventura at the Louvre and the Tomb of Cardinal Matteo Orsini in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome
read abstract » pp. 34-42
read abstract » pp. 34-42
Vera Cutolo
Marble heads for Pius II: an addition to the catalogue of Paolo Romano
read abstract » pp. 43-56
read abstract » pp. 43-56
Roberto Bartalini
A new canvas by Sodoma from the ceiling of Palazzo Chigi in Siena
read abstract » pp. 57-63
read abstract » pp. 57-63
Teresa Callaioli
Pietro Torrigiani's 'Christ' in Westminster Abbey: function and religious role in the space of the English royal church
read abstract » pp. 64-76
read abstract » pp. 64-76
Bruno Carabellese
Francesco Albani, Guido Reni, Guercino: Fabio Chigi and the “manners” of painting
read abstract » pp. 77-85
read abstract » pp. 77-85
Gioele Scordella
A forgotten canvas by Francesco De Mura in Pisa and its commissioning
read abstract » pp. 86-94
read abstract » pp. 86-94