Amico Aspertini (1474 - 1552 ) is the most varied and unpredictable painter on the art scene of Bologna in the first half of the sixteenth century. He lived through some crucial years in the history of Bologna. Perfectly integrated in the court circles of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, he worked alongside Francesco Francia and Lorenzo Costa, the most renown painters of that age. Once the city came under Papal rule, Aspertini's close connections with prestigious citizens who commissioned artworks continued. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, he never stopped his ceaseless travel and drawing activities throughout Italy, which led to contacts with Raphael, Dürer, Michelangelo, Filippino Lippi, Perugino and other leading artists in the figurative culture of the time. The exhibition, consisting of over 120 works from various European and American museums, offers a complete overview of the painter's pictorial and graphic art, set in a comparative context alongside the works of the artists he came into contact with. A selection of etchings, precious manuscripts of miniatures, ceramics and archaeological pieces completes the reconstruction of one of the finest periods in Italian and European art history spanning approximately fifty years.
The exhibition
The exhibition will consist of over one hundred works, including paintings, drawings, manuscripts of miniatures, books and ceramics. The exhibition features almost the complete works of Aspertini, alongside approximately forty works by artists of his time with whom he entertained artistic relations, including Dürer, who went to Bologna in 1504 to study perspective, Filippo Lippi and Raphael.
An important part of the exhibition program consists of venues outside the Pinacoteca, with an itinerary that includes the set of frescos in the Churches of Santa Cecilia and San Giacomo, the sculptures on the façade of the church of San Petronio in Bologna, and the frescos in the Rocca Isolani in Minerbio.
Exhibition promoters
Under the Eminent Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, the exhibition is sponsored by the Soprintendenza B.S.A.E. of Bologna and the Municipality of Bologna - Office for Culture and Relations with the University, with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna and the Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna.
The exhibition is strongly supported by the city's institutions and also enjoys a major contribution from the main local economic institutions, associations and businesses, to boost and spread as widely as possible the potential cultural, tourist and economic benefits generated by the exhibition at the national and international level.
The exhibition is made possible by the Società di Santa Cecilia - Amici della Pinacoteca, which is responsible for its management. The Laboratorio delle Idee in Bologna is in charge of communications and the catalogue is published and distributed by Silvana Editore.
The scientific committee
The exhibition curators are Andrea Emiliani and Daniela Scaglietti Kelescian. The members of the scientific committee include Heinrich Schultze Altcappenberg, Daniele Benati, Jadranka Bentini, Carla Bernardini, Gian Piero Cammarota, Sandro De Maria, Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, Elena Rossoni, Vera Fortunati, Angelo Mazza, Massimo Medica, Eugenio Riccomini, Giovanni Romano, Wolfgang Prohaska and Helga von Kügelgen.
The scientific office and general coordination are managed by Emanuela Fiori.