View of Paolo Giovio's villa in Borgo Vico (1619/1619) by Lombard ambit, first half of the 16th centuryPinacoteca civica di Como
The nucleus of portraits hanging today at the Pinacoteca Comunale of Como consists of 39 paintings, depicting illustrious men of history, which Paolo Giovio collected probably from before 1521, until his death in 1552.
They were intended to be exhibited in the destroyed Villa Museo in Borgovico. These original paintings came into the civic collections in the second half of the last century through the bequests of Rovelli and Acchiappati, who were distant heirs of Paolo Giovio.
The importance of these paintings is mainly historical. For the most part the original group of about four hundred paintings has been dispersed over time and distance, over the centuries and through inheritance.
Portrait of Paolo GiovioPinacoteca civica di Como
It has not always been possible to trace the authorship of the works, since Giovio rarely mentioned them in his writings and acquired them through his friends and acquaintances scattered throughout Europe.
Portrait of Cristoforo ColomboPinacoteca civica di Como
The quality of the portraits themselves is thus certainly not homogeneous, as Giovio's only interest was certainty of the truthfulness of the physiognomy. As a result the formats, supports, techniques and postures of the characters are also all different.
Portrait of Domizio Calderino by Veneto paintePinacoteca civica di Como
Most of them portray only the face and bust against an empty background.
Others are accompanied by characteristic elements
Totila portrait (1549) by Francesco SalviatiPinacoteca civica di Como
Such as the sceptre of Totila, the book and writing equipment of Budé and Leoniceno or the helmet and staff of command of Niccolò Orsini.
Portrait of Paolo IIPinacoteca civica di Como
Portrait of Giorgio Trissino (1546) by Veneto PainterPinacoteca civica di Como
Niccolò Leoniceno portrait (1521) by Dosso DossiPinacoteca civica di Como
Of particular artistic importance are the Leoniceno by Dosso Dossi, the double portrait of Alberto Magno and Duns Scotus by Amico Anspertini, the Castiglione by Bernardino Campi, the Marullo by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, the Totila by Francesco Salviati and the Budé.
Portrait of Marsilio Ficino by Tuscan painter close to the manner of Andrea del BrescianinoPinacoteca civica di Como
Among the figures by unidentified authors there are popes, commanders, rulers, humanists, Turkish rulers, gentlemen, a Turkish tightrope walker called “Halis” and a woman called Fausta Mancini.
Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola (1521) by Tuscan painterPinacoteca civica di Como
It is often possible to identify the important iconographic sources from which the portraits were copied, as in the case of Ficino, Trissino and Savonarola, but all are recognisable by the inscription or cartouche that accompanies them with the character's name.
Portrait of Aiax AgáPinacoteca civica di Como
The collection was partly copied after Giovio's death for Cosimo I de’ Medici, Cardinal Federico Borromeo and Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, giving rise to other series of portraits of illustrious men.
Portrait of Ermolao Barbaro by Veneto painterPinacoteca civica di Como
Tobias Stimmer engraved the portraits to illustrate the editions of Paolo Giovio's Elogia and other Jovian texts printed from 1575 onwards.
Taken from the text by Bruno Fasola in Pinacoteca Civica di Como - Selected works, Electa, 2021
