Bolognese Painters in the Private Collections of Romagna: The Albicini Marchis Collection in Forlì

Barbara Ghelfi’s chapter, based on extensive archival research on art patronage and collecting in Romagna, explores the collection of the noble Albicini family, who owned valuable, high-quality objects that were atypical for small cities. Ghelfi’s examination of extensive correspondence between the family and the artists they employed during the seventeenth century enables her to provide valuable insights into the reputations, working methods, and prices of such eminent Bolognese school painters as Francesco Albani, Guido Cagnacci, Carlo Cignani, Domenico Maria Canuti, and Lorenzo Pasinelli. Her contribution demonstrates the popularity of Bolognese artists well beyond the city of Bologna itself. This interpretation of the documents is a field of research of significant novelty, calls into question consolidated critical proposals and offers innovative solutions for debated problems.