Intorno a Batoni. Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Roma, 3-4 Marzo 2009)

The tercentenary of the Batoni's birth (Lucca Jan. 25 1708) has been celebrated between 2007 and 2009 with several initiatives and specially with the important exhibitions in Houston, London and Lucca.
The exhibition in Lucca, as the curator Liliana Barroero explains in her introduction, developed in a conference whose proceedings are here represented. The title "concerning Batoni", has been chosen to point out the variety of themes which revolves around the artist and his role of protagonist of the European XVIII century.... The title of the conference and of the publication of its proceedings indicates the complexity of the monographic work on a so important protagonist, completely involved in the cultural, social and artistic life of his time and who had among his customers and admirers the whole European elite. Surely the researches in the archives, the recovery of lost works, the analysis of the historical data are fundamental for a correct focusing of a so relevant personality. But in the meantime some "lunges" has been tempted regarding to particular aspects of the work of the artist and the re-echoes of his activity have been enlightened: from the interaction of lucky paintings to the effects of the admired production of the "prince of the painters".