Antonio Ruffo (1610 or 1611 – 16 June 1678) was an important Sicilian politician, nobleman, patron and collector from the

Ruffo di Calabria The House of Ruffo di Calabria is the name of an ancient, one of the most prominent and longest-standing Italian noble families. History It was already one of the seven most important houses of the Kingdom of Naples.Castle Bagnara or

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

and died in Messina. His collections included coins, silverware, paintings by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

('' Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague–Stricken of Palermo''),

Paul Bril Paul Bril (1554 – 7 October 1626) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and printmaker principally known for his Landscape art, landscapes.Nicola Courtright. "Paul Bril." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. ...

Jacob Jordaens Jacques (Jacob) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678Jacques Jordaens
in the Netherlands Institute for Ar ...

, Abraham Casembroot and others, several

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

etchings and tapestries of ''The Life of Achilles'' to designs by

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

. He commissioned three paintings from Rembrandt (''

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer ''Aristotle with a Bust of Homer'' (), also known as ''Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer'', is an oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt that depicts Aristotle wearing a gold chain and contemplating a sculpted Bust (sculpture), bust of Homer. I ...

'', ''Alexander the Great'' and '' Homer Dictating his Verses'') and corresponded with

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi ( ; ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished 17th century, 17th-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing professional ...

Cornelis de Wael Cornelis de Wael (Antwerp, 1592 – Rome, 1667) was a Flemish painter, engraver and merchant who was primarily active in Genoa in Italy. He is known for his genre paintings, battle scenes, history paintings and still lifes. Through his art wo ...

and

Abraham Brueghel Abraham Brueghel (baptised 28 November 1631 – c. 1690) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter from the famous Brueghel family of artists. He emigrated at a young age to Italy where he played an important role in the development of the style of ...

. He was also the owner of ''Erminia and the Shepherd'' (

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

, 1649), ''The History of Pythagoras: Buying Fishes'' and ''The History of Pythagoras: Coming out of the Cave'' (Salvator Rosa). After the earthquake of 1783, his first-born son Giovanni Ruffo rescued 112 paintings and brought them to Scaletta.

Bibliography

* (in Italian) Vincenzo Ruffo, ''Galleria Ruffo nel secolo XVII in Messina (con lettere di pittori ed altri documenti inediti)'', Bollettino d'Arte 10 (1916): 21–64, 95–128, 165–92, 237–56, 284–320, 369–88. * (in Italian) Vincenzo Ruffo, ''La Galleria Ruffo (appendice)'', Bollettino d'Arte 13 (1919): 3–16; and Corrado Ricci, Rembrandt in Italia (Milan, 1918), 7–53. * (in Italian) Rosanna De Gennaro, ''Per il collezionismo del Seicento in Sicilia: L'inventario di Antonio Ruffo principe della Scaletta'', Pisa, 2003. * (in Italian) Alessandra Primicerio, ''Antonio Ruffo principe della Scaletta'', Pubblisfera, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffo, Antonio Politicians from Messina 1610s births Year of birth uncertain 1678 deaths Italian art collectors 17th-century Italian politicians Italian art patrons

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

People from Bagnara Calabra