Description

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This fascinating book investigates Guercino's portrait of miniature painter and art dealer Fra Bonaventura Bisi, a Franciscan friar who wears an intriguing gold earring. Who is the intriguing man wearing a religious habit and a gold hoop earring in this portrait by Italian Baroque master Il Guercino? And why does he point to a stack of drawings? This fascinating book investigates The Ringling's portrait of Fra Bonaventura Bisi, a Franciscan Minor Conventual friar whose work as an art dealer, printmaker, and celebrated painter of miniatures made him a major figure in the artistic culture of 17th-century Bologna. Beautifully illustrated, this volume offers new scholarship on both Guercino's portrait and Fra Bisi's life, including his extraordinary miniatures, his dogged pursuit of artworks for high-ranking collectors, his passionate efforts to promote the appreciation and collecting of drawings, and - not least - his incongruous gold hoop earring.Published to accompany an important exhibition of the same name at The Ringling (14 October 2023-07 January 2024), this book, based on years of research, provides a captivating glimpse into art making and art collecting in Baroque Italy.

About the Author

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David M. Stone is Professor Emeritus at the University of Delaware and a specialist in 17th-century Italian art. Sarah Cartwright is Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Sarah Cartwright is Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections at The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.