Giovanni Ludovico Bianconi (1717 in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

– 1781 in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

), was an Italian doctor and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

, a multi-facetted scholar who was mentor and correspondent of the connoisseur and early

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Johann Joachim Winckelmann Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding he ...

. Bianconi was doctor at the court of

Joseph Ignaz Philipp von Hessen-Darmstadt Joseph Ignaz Philipp of Hesse-Darmstadt (1699–1768) was the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1740 to 1768. Early life Landgrave Joseph Ignaz Philipp of Hesse-Darmstadt was born in Brussels on 22 January 1699, the son of Philip of Hesse-Darmsta ...

Prince-Bishop of Augsburg The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg (german: Fürstbistum Augsburg; Hochstift Augsburg) was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, and belonged to the Swabian Circle. It should not be confused with the larger diocese of Augsburg, ...

, from 1744 and councillor to Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, at

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. His ''Scritti tedeschi'' (1763) sent from

to Marchese Filippo Hercolani and to

Francesco Algarotti Count Francesco Algarotti (11 December 1712 – 3 May 1764) was an Italian polymath, philosopher, poet, essayist, anglophile, art critic and art collector. He was a man of broad knowledge, an expert in Newtonianism, architecture and opera. He wa ...

, described the assembly and furnishing of the Electoral paintings gallery, with which Algarotti had been closely concerned; the collection formed the nucleus of the Gemäldegalerie at Dresden, initiated with the block purchase of some hundred paintings from the Este collection, Modena, in 1745— which Bianconi enriched with the purchase of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

's ''

Sistine Madonna The ''Sistine Madonna'', also called the ''Madonna di San Sisto'', is an oil painting by the Italian artist Raphael. The painting was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II for the church of San Sisto, Piacenza, and probably executed ''c.'' 151 ...

'' in 1753— These ''Scritti tedeschi'' were edited and set in their historical context by Giovanna Perini (Argelato, 1998). Bianconi's connections were strongest in Bologna, even among picture dealers who were his rivals in supplying Dresden, and in Florence, through

Ignazio Hugford ''A miracle of St. Francis of Paola'' by Hugford. Ignazio Hugford, or Ignatius Heckford (1703–1778), was an Italian painter active mostly in Tuscany in an early Neoclassic style. Life and work Ignazio Hugford was born in Pisa, the son of a ...

. In the changed atmosphere and straightened finances following the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, Bianconi found it time to return to Italy, where he spent the rest of his career. Among his published work were a book on

Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric ...

(1779),

Anton Raphael Mengs Anton Raphael Mengs (22 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German people, German painter, active in Dresden, Rome, and Madrid, who while painting in the Rococo period of the mid-18th century became one of the precursors to Neoclassicism, Neoclas ...

(1780) and the disquisition on the

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...

, ''Descrizione dei circhi particolarmente di quello di Caracalla'' (published posthumously, 1789). He also published extensively Winckelmann's reports from

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

. Early biographies were Mariotti, ''Delle lodi di L. B.'', (Perugia), 1781, and Sassoli, ''Della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Ludovico Bianconi'', Bologna, 1885. His brother

Carlo Bianconi Carlo Bianconi (1732 – August 15, 1802) was an Italian painter, engraver, and architect. Biography He trained in Bologna with Ercole Graziani the Younger in Bologna. He created many engravings of antiquities. In Bologna, he worked with ...

, a neoclassical painter of some reputation, served as secretary to the Accademia di belle arti, at the Brera, Milan.Perini 1993:550.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianconi, Giovanni Ludovico 18th-century Italian physicians 1717 births 1781 deaths Italian art historians

Further reading

Notes