Baccio del Bianco (1604–1657)

We cordially invite you to the lecture from the cycle Collegium historiae artium, which will be given by Eva Struhal (Università di Trento) on the topic of Baccio del Bianco (1604–1657): Painting, Natural Philosophy, and Caricature between Prague and Florence.

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 4.30 pm in the Institute of Art History CAS, room 117, Husova 4, Prague 1.

My talk focuses on the Florentine polymath Baccio del Bianco (1604-1657), an artist, engineer, architect, and caricaturist, whose professional beginnings are connected to the architect and astronomer Giovanni Pieroni and the Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Pieroni was a friend of Galileo’s and steeped in the world of the New Science. Although lasting only from 1620- ca. 1625, it is this collaboration that had a decisive impact on Baccio’s life and intellectual development: the continued importance of fortification architecture throughout his career as well as his interest in the Galilean natural philosophy. My paper will present a general survey of Baccio’s work and then analyse his frescoes at the Casa Buonarroti in Florence as well as his approach to caricature before the background of confluence of historical, artistic, and natural philosophical contexts in Galilean and post-Galilean Florence.