The discovery of a group of drawings, some of large format, by an early 19th century artist, acquired as anonymous and then recognized by Prof. Francesco Leone as autographs by Michele Sangiorgi (Faenza, 1785 - Rome, 1822), has induced to publish a small volume on this talented artist. Sangiorgi lived and worked for many years in Rome, included in the avant-garde artistic circuit which included, to name just a few, figures such as Francesco Hayez, Pelagio Palagi or Tommaso Minardi. With these artists - and above all with Minardi - Sangiorgi had deep ties during his long Roman adventure. But today, unlike the latter, the fame of this painter, born in Faenza and raised at the art school of Giuseppe Zauli, is rather obscure because Sangiorgi died very young, at only 37, and because his existential anxieties negatively marked its fate.
Shortly before the discovery of this nucleus of drawings we had an important sheet by Sangiorgi executed in 1812 and dedicated to the glory of Antonio Canova, the great sculptor from Possagno whom Sangiorgi was able to know and attend assiduously (n. 1 of catalog). This drawing has recently joined the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington as proof of the high quality of the work of the master from Faenza and his recognition on an international level.
With a thread of pride we can say that our gallery, dealing with artists or topics less known to the general public, but no less important for the history of art, has always promoted and divulged, both in our country and abroad, the study and knowledge of Italian artistic culture.
We hope that once again we have succeeded in our intentions, with the hope that thanks to this small volume it will be possible in the future to trace back to Sangiorgi's hand other sheets still today considered without paternity.
Enrico and Federico Cortona
*The works in this catalog will be available online from March 2023.
