This archive of photographic and documentary material was put together by Nicolò Cipriani (Ravenna, 1892 - Florence, 1968), a photographer and archivist, who collaborated for over thirty years with the Photographic Cabinet of the Florentine Arts Superintendency.
Cipriani was a passionate collector of photographs, a connoisseur of the Italian and, especially, Tuscan landscape, who had a keen interest in art. During his career in Florence, he conducted many photographic campaigns for numerous scholars, such as Aby Warburg, Raimond Van Marle, Giuseppe Fiocco, Ugo Ojetti, Adolfo Venturi, Roberto Longhi, Luigi Coletti and Bernard Berenson. He collaborated with several publishing houses, including the Touring Club, Rizzoli and Mondadori and documented some major art events in the city, such as the exhibition on Italian painting of the 17th and 18th centuries held at the Palazzo Pitti in 1922, or the historical exhibition on the illustrated book of 1927 (as demonstrated by his inventories).
In addition to his work at the Photographs Cabinet, Cipriani took numerous photos for private customers and conducted various photo reports on the Tuscan countryside. His productions range from studio shots of works of art belonging to Florentine and other collectors to the exciting panoramas of the Tuscan landscape in its entirety, contrasted by chiaroscuro effects, as in his snapshots of the beach of Viareggio shown at The Photographic Exhibition of the Tuscan Landscape (1927). Among the images we also find some snapshots taken during his time in the ranks of the Italian Royal Army during the Great War: small format positive monochromes that document the lives of soldiers at the front.
The collection acquired by the Institute of Art History comprises 151.147 photographs in a variety of formats and made using various printing techniques. They document different types of art (paintings, sculptures, but also jewellery, ceramics, lace, weapons, etc.), as part of Cipriani's original project, entitled the Fototeca Italiana (Italian Photo Library), aimed at the complete mapping of Italian art. Along with his own photographs, Cipriani gathered notes, newspaper cuttings and typescript lists referring to the objects and collections photographed.
The acquisition of the collection took place in two stages. The first stage, in 1958, saw the arrival of folders containing photographs and related notes, newspaper cuttings, postcards and information about the artists and the media used. In the second stage, after 1960, photographic material was brought to San Giorgio packed in crates but without having been organised, due to a serious illness that affected Cipriani at the end of his career.
Following its reorganisation, the photographic collection is now divided into three parts.
From the 1950s to the 1990s, an initial part of the collection (about 5,000 photographs) was glued on paper cards (24 x 30 cm) and can now be consulted in the Monographic and Topographical sections of the Photo Library.
The second part, the core of the collection, consists of photographic and documentary materials related to the Arts. Kept in files, they are divided into several series created by Cipriani himself: Architects and Sculptors, Drawings, Engravers, Painters, and a large sequence of Minor Arts. Each series is ordered by century, artist or school.
The third part, consisting of over 300 boxes, documents individual locations in alphabetical order. The richest part of the photographs and paper documents (articles, newspaper cuttings, guides, etc.) concerns Tuscany but there are also forays into neighbouring regions such as Umbria and the Marches.
Bibliography:
Paesaggi toscani nelle immagini della Fototeca Italiana, edited by M. Tamassia, Florence 2009
M. Tamassia, "La documentazione delle sculture di Michelangelo Buonarroti nel Gabinetto Fotografico della Soprintendenza Fiorentina", in Ri-conoscere Michelangelo, edited by M. Maffioli and S. Bietoletti, Florence 2014, pp. 78-89.
Cipriani was a passionate collector of photographs, a connoisseur of the Italian and, especially, Tuscan landscape, who had a keen interest in art. During his career in Florence, he conducted many photographic campaigns for numerous scholars, such as Aby Warburg, Raimond Van Marle, Giuseppe Fiocco, Ugo Ojetti, Adolfo Venturi, Roberto Longhi, Luigi Coletti and Bernard Berenson. He collaborated with several publishing houses, including the Touring Club, Rizzoli and Mondadori and documented some major art events in the city, such as the exhibition on Italian painting of the 17th and 18th centuries held at the Palazzo Pitti in 1922, or the historical exhibition on the illustrated book of 1927 (as demonstrated by his inventories).
In addition to his work at the Photographs Cabinet, Cipriani took numerous photos for private customers and conducted various photo reports on the Tuscan countryside. His productions range from studio shots of works of art belonging to Florentine and other collectors to the exciting panoramas of the Tuscan landscape in its entirety, contrasted by chiaroscuro effects, as in his snapshots of the beach of Viareggio shown at The Photographic Exhibition of the Tuscan Landscape (1927). Among the images we also find some snapshots taken during his time in the ranks of the Italian Royal Army during the Great War: small format positive monochromes that document the lives of soldiers at the front.
The collection acquired by the Institute of Art History comprises 151.147 photographs in a variety of formats and made using various printing techniques. They document different types of art (paintings, sculptures, but also jewellery, ceramics, lace, weapons, etc.), as part of Cipriani's original project, entitled the Fototeca Italiana (Italian Photo Library), aimed at the complete mapping of Italian art. Along with his own photographs, Cipriani gathered notes, newspaper cuttings and typescript lists referring to the objects and collections photographed.
The acquisition of the collection took place in two stages. The first stage, in 1958, saw the arrival of folders containing photographs and related notes, newspaper cuttings, postcards and information about the artists and the media used. In the second stage, after 1960, photographic material was brought to San Giorgio packed in crates but without having been organised, due to a serious illness that affected Cipriani at the end of his career.
Following its reorganisation, the photographic collection is now divided into three parts.
From the 1950s to the 1990s, an initial part of the collection (about 5,000 photographs) was glued on paper cards (24 x 30 cm) and can now be consulted in the Monographic and Topographical sections of the Photo Library.
The second part, the core of the collection, consists of photographic and documentary materials related to the Arts. Kept in files, they are divided into several series created by Cipriani himself: Architects and Sculptors, Drawings, Engravers, Painters, and a large sequence of Minor Arts. Each series is ordered by century, artist or school.
The third part, consisting of over 300 boxes, documents individual locations in alphabetical order. The richest part of the photographs and paper documents (articles, newspaper cuttings, guides, etc.) concerns Tuscany but there are also forays into neighbouring regions such as Umbria and the Marches.
Bibliography:
Paesaggi toscani nelle immagini della Fototeca Italiana, edited by M. Tamassia, Florence 2009
M. Tamassia, "La documentazione delle sculture di Michelangelo Buonarroti nel Gabinetto Fotografico della Soprintendenza Fiorentina", in Ri-conoscere Michelangelo, edited by M. Maffioli and S. Bietoletti, Florence 2014, pp. 78-89.