Discover art collector, nobleman, patron Antonio Ruffo

Name variations

This field records and makes accessible name variations, as found in sources. Alternate spellings, nicknames, maiden names - with or without the married name - are included in this category.

: Ruffo, Don Antonio

Qualifications: art collector, nobleman, patron
Ruffo was an important Sicilian politician with a social network that reached many cities in Europe. He collected silver, coins ans paintings, including Netherlandish. He commissioned Rembrandt 3 paintings: Aristotle with the bust of Homer (1653), Alexander the Great (1661) and a seated Homer, teaching two pupils (1663). Ruffo also possessed many of his etchings (189). Furthermore, his 1678 inventory mentions tapestries after design of Rubens (the story of Achilles), and he had work of Abraham Casembroot, Van Dyck, Jordaens and Paul Bril. Ruffo was also in contact with Cornelis de Wael and Abraham Breughel.

Nationality/school: Italian

Born: Messina (city) 1610/1611
was probably born in Messina or the Castle Bagnara in 1610 or 1611 (Giltaij 1999, p. 13)

Deceased: Messina (city) 1678-06-16
Giltaij 1999, p. 13

See also In this field, you will find references to names of groups or to the artists that made/make up groups. You may also come across references to other artists if there was/is question of collaboration without a joint name. This is the case, for instance, with artists who rendered parts of works by other artists (such as with P.P Rubens and J. Brueghel I).

This person/entity in other databases

4 hits in RKDimages as provenance
3 hits in RKDlibrary as subject

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Biographical information

Active in

Sicilië (eiland, regio) 1648 - 1678
the earliest surviving inventory of Ruffo is dated 19 June 1648

born in

active in

died in

Literature

Literature in RKDLibrary: 3 hits in RKDlibrary as subject

Gerson 1942/1983 , p. 146, 175-177
Bedoni/Meijer/De Vecchi 1983 , passim
Meijer 1983
Giltaij 1999 , passim
Rutgers 2008 , p. 27-31

V. Ruffo, 'Galleria Ruffo nel secolo XVII in Messina (con lettere di pittori ed altri documenti inediti', Bollettino d'Arte 10 (1916), p. 21-64; 95-128; 165-192; 237-256; 284-320; 369-388
G.J. Hoogewerff, ‘Rembrandt en een Italiaansche Maecenas’, Oud-Holland 35 (1917), p. 129-148
H. Schneider, 'Rembrandt in Italien', Kunstchronik und Kunstmarkt NF 30 (1918), p. 69-73
V. Ruffo, 'La Galleria Ruffo (appendice)', Bollettino d'Arte 13 (1919), p. 3-16
T.H. Fokker, 'Nederlandsche schilders in Zuid-Italie', Oud Holland 46 (1929), p. 1-24, esp. p. 1
J. Giltaij, 'Nieuws omtrent Ruffo en Rembrandt', Kroniek van het Rembrandthuis (2005), no. 1-2, p. 47-49
J. Giltaij, 'Antonio Ruffo e Rembrandt', in: exh. cat. Percorsi d’arte. Dal collezionismo dei Ruffo all'evoluzione pittorica di Mino Delle Site, Cavallino (Convento di S. Domenico) en Salerno (Pinacoteca Provinciale) 2005, p. 51-63
S.O. Androsov, 'Rembrandt in Seventeenth-Century Italy', in: In Memoriam Vladimir Levinson-Lessing. Proceedings of the conferences 2006-2007, St Petersburg 2011, p. 18-24 and 211 (Russian and English summary)
F. Campagna Cicala, ‘La Galleria di don Antonio Ruffo e il collezionismo. Appunti per le ‘liaison’ tra committenti, pittori e mercanti fiamminghi nella cultura artistica a Messina nel XVII secolo’, in V. Abbate, G. Bongiovanni, M. De Luca (eds.), Sicilia. Pittura fiamminga, Palermo (Palazzo Abatellis) 2018, p. 37-45.

Documentation RKD

This field specifies the location of the various RKD documentation materials. Most of the locations refer to our art-historical image documentation. In addition, you will find references to press documentation (clippings and short articles) here.

PDO/Collectors and art professionals

Project: Gerson Digital : Italy

External links: this collector in Treccani

Permalink: https://rkd.nl/explore/artists/440106

Creation date: 2012-01-25; Last modified date: 2023-02-09

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Antonio Ruffo

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