Il fondo «Arti Belle» dell’Archivio di Stato di Modena per la storiografia artistica della seconda metà dell’Ottocento

Abstract

The essay analyses the use of the papers of the archival collection called «Arti Belle» of the Archivio di Stato of Modena for the research of artistic historiography in the second half of the 19th century, starting from 1861, year of the opening of the institute to scholars, including the marquis Giuseppe Campori (1821-1887). Through new documents, cross-referenced with a re-reading of the works published by the marquis, the study attests to a progressive enlargement of this archival collection during the 19th century and the interest of Senator Luigi Cibrario (1802-1870) in those papers, and then focuses on the unpublished correspondence between Campori and Luigi Napoleone Cittadella (1806-1877), director of the municipal library of Ferrara. From those letters – precious testimonies of a confidential pen-pen relationship – crucial themes emerge for the studies of the time and for the art historiography to come, such as the intricate attribution issue of the paintings in the Salone dei Mesi in Schifanoia, those of Bastianino in Ferrara cathedral, Raphael’s relations with the Este court, or the difficult focus on “Camerini d’alabastro” of Alfonso I d’Este, attested by documents but laboriously identified only with the research of both.