L. Baroni - Abstract

The ancestor of the best-known painter Federico Barocci, Ambrogio Barocci was a Lombard sculptor involved in the decoration of the Urbino Ducal Palace under Federico da Montefeltro. Despite being one of the leading artistic figures in the Montefeltro court, Ambrogio was almost forgotten in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, with the only exception of a incidental quotation in Bellori’s Vite (1672). This originated a curious case of mistaken identity that involved two self-portaits of Federico Barocci from the renowned Galleria di ritratti d’artista of the Uffizi Gallery and their many engraved copies. Through the careful reconstruction of this pattern of mistakes and misunderstaindings, the paper hilights Ambrogio’s historiographical misfortunes, suggesting a more aware approach to his figure.