Abstract

In the last decades Alessandro Verri's eclecticism has been analysed in its historical and literary aspects. This paper examines Verri's connections with the artistic neoclassicist environment in Rome. His acute correspondence allows us to observe the evolution of art and of artistic trends, both local and international, the rise and decline of the main painters and sculptors of the time, the commissions from foreigners during the Grand Tours, the great collectors of the city and Verri's own involvement in the trade and diffusion of antiquities and reproductions. Also examined is his deep erudition, theoretical and esthetical, achieved through the acquaintance with key figures, such as Winckelmann, Cardinal Albani and Marchesa Margherita Sparapani Gentili Boccapaduli's entourage.