Lot 1293 | Santi Corsi | In the Picture Gallery of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence

CORSI, SANTI
1871 Castelfranco di Sotto

Title: In the Picture Gallery of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
View into the Sala dell' Iliade.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 92 x 126cm.
Notation: Signed lower left: S. Corsi.
Frame: Framed.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

This painting by Santi Corsi shows the magnificent interior of the Sala dell'Iliade in the Palatto Pitti in Florence in its 19th century décor. The work was undoubtedly painted after the installation of the statue "La Carità Educatrice" by Lorenzo Bartolini in 1853. It is considered one of the examples of mid-19th century painting specialising in the reproduction of views of museum interiors, characterised by the recognisability of all the details of the decoration and furnishings. The same subject was also depicted by the painters Odoardo Borrani, Domenico Caligo and Domenico Pesenti, apart from the numerous photographic campaigns by the Fratelli Alinari, which testify to the popularity of the room.
Santi Corsi has portrayed the interior of the palace, namely the Galleria Palatina, several times, no doubt fascinated by the impressive concentration of masterpieces. The ceilings with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona and his workshop, the Baroque-style walls where many masterpieces are placed closer to each other, cause amazement and wonder. In addition to sculptures by Bartolini, famous paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi, Paolo Veronese, Andrea del Sarto and Diego Velázquez can be seen. The furnishings of the Sala dell'Iliade have hardly changed over the centuries, despite the historical events Florence has witnessed. Some of the works Santi Corsi reproduces in this painting have been in the same place for a long time, although in some cases the attribution has changed.
Santi Corsi was born in Castelfranco di Sotto, near Pisa, in 1871. In Florence he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and he set up his studio in what is now Lungarno Serristori, just a few steps from Palazzo Pitti. His works depicting the rooms of the palace are in numerous international museums (including São Paulo State Art Gallery, Brazil; The Royal Collection Trust, US), while a copy based on Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola - the original is in Palazzo Pitti - can be seen at Stetson University in Florida.
The interior of museums is not a new subject and has been taken up again and again by painters over the centuries up to the present day, sometimes with the help of photography, as in the most famous cases of Candida Höfer and Thomas Struth.