The collection of Sampieri family: from dispersion to denial and desirable development

Abstract

In the early nineteenth century, the member of Sampieri family, burdened with debts, made a double sale of their paintings collection. Francesco Giovanni Maria Sampieri (1790-1863), son of Luigi Sampieri (1758-1797), enthusiastic and amateur composer and therefore member of Phillharmonic Academy in 1807, sold six paintings to Italian goverment for «326.522,50 italian lire».

The artworks were trasferred by Andrea Appiani in 15 January in the following year, to the gallery of Brera Accademy, in Milan, which they were intendend. Francesco Rosaspina and Felice Giani oversaw in Bologna the packaging of the paintings on canvas of Carracci, Reni, Guercino and the Albani’s copper. The six paintings were already excluded from the previous Stima delli sottonotati quadri esistenti nella famosa Galleria Sampieri di Bologna of the 31 October 1810.

The Stima record 129 paintings, less than 140 ones recorded in the previous inventories, and they are valued 120.900 italian lire. They will be sold to prince Eugenio Napoleone for only 27.777,50 lire.

The frescoes from Carracci remain above the chimney vanishing and vaulted ceilings in the Bologna’s palace, remains the amazing Guercino’s Ercole fights with Anteo too. Guercino shows us a representation almost tangible of Ercole’s effort to victory on the Giant, summoning the ancient sculpture sublime.

As we have seen, the mobile artworks are no longer in Bologna. The city lost, togheter with others collections, its «Superbissimo - So much superb- museum» from Sampieri family «a Gallery, not called worthy of private Knight, but of a Prince, or indeed, a King»