Biographical overview
1904: Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle (14 boxes of notes, drafts, and drawings, plus several folders and a collection of books and pamphlets)
Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle was born in Legnago (Verona) on 22 January 1819. He received an irregular education and also attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.
From an early age, he began visiting museums, churches, and private collections, travelling wherever he could study paintings—first in the Veneto and northern Italy, then, from 1846, in Munich, and subsequently in Germany, including Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin.
His patriotic fervour led him to return to Italy in 1848. Forced to flee shortly thereafter, he settled in London in 1850, and from there, in the following years, undertook journeys across Europe, from Spain to Russia.
By this time regarded as an art expert, he was in contact with the leading curators of European galleries and devoted himself with continuity and passion to the survey of works of art.
His research culminated in major art-historical publications, particularly after his meeting with the English journalist and historian Joseph Archer Crowe in 1847. Their first joint work was The Early Flemish Painters, followed by the monumental A New History of Painting in Italy, later complemented by a section on A History of Painting in North Italy, so extensive that it was published separately.
After the unification of Italy, Cavalcaselle returned permanently to his homeland and devoted himself to the protection and conservation of artworks. He was appointed inspector in Florence in 1867 and later in Rome, continuing his travels in an official capacity and supervising important restorations.
He died on 31 October 1897.
The bequest
In 1904, Cavalcaselle’s widow donated to the Library the substantial bundles of papers containing the notes the art historian had accumulated over the years during his travels and which formed the basis of his published works.
These notes are largely visual in character: as a connoisseur and draughtsman, Cavalcaselle recorded his observations by sketching figures and adding written annotations.
His printed library was also donated. It contains his own works, as well as other monographs and offprints, which are of particular importance when they contain his annotations.
Joseph Archer Crowe’s papers, which also document his collaboration and relationship with Cavalcaselle, are preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Extent and composition
The manuscript collection is divided as follows:
- Notes for the History of Painting, in 6 boxes: It. IV, 2024–2029 (=12265–12270) [consisting of 4,446 folios]
- Drawings and notes, loose sheets in 6 boxes: It. IV, 2030–2035 (=12271–12276) [consisting of 5,596 folios]
- Travel notebooks, in 2 boxes: It. IV, 2036–2037 (=12277–12278) [consisting of 2,305 folios]
- Notes and materials for the History of Italian Art, in 3 folders and 1 file: It. IV, 2038–2041 (=12279–12282) [consisting of 2,913 folios]
- Other materials: It. X, 377–378 (=10612–10613) [consisting of 55 folios]
The printed books and pamphlets comprise 531 titles.
Inventories and catalogues
The entire manuscript collection has been examined, numbered, and indexed. This work has made it possible to reconstruct how Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle organised his papers and to identify the works of art he examined in different locations.
The full manuscript collection has been digitised and is available online. Annotated or otherwise significant printed works have been incorporated into the same database.
Further reading
- B. Cavalcaselle, Disegni da antichi maestri, exhibition catalogue edited by Lino Moretti, Vicenza, Neri Pozza, 1973.
- Donata Levi, Cavalcaselle, il pioniere della conservazione dell'arte italiana, Turin, Einaudi, 1988.