Date
1870-1885
Object Type
Photograph
Subject
From the top left, clockwise: statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); detail of The Battle between Darius and Alexander showing the figure of Alexander (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); statue of Viciria Arcade, mother of Balbus (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); helmet decorated in relief; amphorae and painted vases, including an amphora depicting two panthers and one depicting two sphinxes; helmet decorated in relief.
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
About The Work
This plate belongs to a volume of Il Bel Paese. Meraviglie Artistiche Monumentali e Pittoriche dell’Italia, a remarkable collection of 24 photographic albums forming a comprehensive iconographic survey of Italian landscapes, architecture and works of art. Containing approximately 4,725 photographic prints, the collection records both major artistic centres and more remote localities, extending from the rural villages of the Lombardy lakes to the southern reaches of the peninsula, including Sicily.
The albums are numbered from 1 to 29, with volumes 3, 4, 7, 25, and 27 missing. Due to the scarcity of documentation concerning the collection’s arrival at the Accademia di Brera, it remains unclear whether these gaps existed from the outset or resulted from later losses. The albums consist predominantly of albumen prints, alongside a smaller number of salted paper and photomechanical prints. Neither the provenance of the collection nor the individual responsible for assembling the collection has been identified. The albums were most likely compiled between circa 1890 and 1910, although many of the photographs, which were produced by a variety of photographers, date from earlier decades, between the 1860s and the mid-1880s.
The collaged photographic compositions found on many pages, occasionally embellished with hand-drawn interventions, suggest the involvement of a figure connected to an academic milieu. In fact, the collection embodies a model of nineteenth-century teaching practice, in which photography functioned as a means of organising historical-artistic knowledge, and, over time, contributing to the construction of the Academy’s institutional memory.
The albums are numbered from 1 to 29, with volumes 3, 4, 7, 25, and 27 missing. Due to the scarcity of documentation concerning the collection’s arrival at the Accademia di Brera, it remains unclear whether these gaps existed from the outset or resulted from later losses. The albums consist predominantly of albumen prints, alongside a smaller number of salted paper and photomechanical prints. Neither the provenance of the collection nor the individual responsible for assembling the collection has been identified. The albums were most likely compiled between circa 1890 and 1910, although many of the photographs, which were produced by a variety of photographers, date from earlier decades, between the 1860s and the mid-1880s.
The collaged photographic compositions found on many pages, occasionally embellished with hand-drawn interventions, suggest the involvement of a figure connected to an academic milieu. In fact, the collection embodies a model of nineteenth-century teaching practice, in which photography functioned as a means of organising historical-artistic knowledge, and, over time, contributing to the construction of the Academy’s institutional memory.
Title
10310 NAPOLI MUSEO Battaglia di Alessandro & Dario / Alessandro; two helmets; amphoras and vases; statue of Marco Nonio Balbo; [...]8. Balbo madre. Museo di Napoli.
Subject
From the top left, clockwise: statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); detail of The Battle between Darius and Alexander showing the figure of Alexander (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); statue of Viciria Arcade, mother of Balbus (Naples, National Archaeological Museum); helmet decorated in relief; amphorae and painted vases, including an amphora depicting two panthers and one depicting two sphinxes; helmet decorated in relief.
Creator
Giorgio Sommer
Date
1870-1885
Object Type
Photograph
Technique / Support
Albumen print
Dimensions
mm 305x446
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
Unique identifier
ICCD_MIDF_0895354352771