Die Selbstbildnissammlung Der Medici 1650-1723 - (Ars Et Scientia) by Anna Maria Jonietz (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The 'Galleria degli Autoritratti' in the Uffizi, Florence, is the largest collection of artists' self-portraits in the world. It was founded in 1650 by Leopoldo de' Medici, and his heir Cosimo III expanded and reorganized it. Assisted by a network of agents and guided by empirical research criteria, the two patrons acquired only genuine self-portraits. The outcome was a unique, special collection closely linked to the epistemological approaches of the 17th century. Anna Maria Jonietz is the first to analyze the art-theoretical and academic-historical aspects of the 'Galleria.' She sheds light on the strategies of showing and convincing and demonstrates how the historical exhibition concept enabled a visual study of art and its history.

About the Author

Anna Maria Jonietz, studied Italian Studies and Art History at the Ruhr University Bochum and the Università di Catania. 2018-2021, she was a research associate in the DFG project "The Galleria degli Autoritratti of the Uffizi. On the conditions of production, modes of reception and models of organisation of artists' self-portraits in a modern collection" and scholarship holder at the Institute of Art History in Florence - Max Planck Institute. After her doctorate at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in 2023, she also worked there as a research assistant and lecturer. Currently, she is lecturer at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich. Her research fields include art theory and the history of collecting in the early modern period, as well as socio-historical studies on the artist personality.