Presents new findings about Bellori's place in seventeenth-century politics, art criticism, and antiquarian studies.

Giovan Pietro Bellori was one of the most important intellectuals of seventeenth-century Italy. Best known today for his art criticism and biographies of artists he knew personally, such as Nicholas Poussin, in his own day he was renowned for his expertise in coins, gems, and ancient painting. This collection of essays presents new findings about Bellori's multifarious activities as well as fresh interpretations of his ideas. A frank, unbiased reevaluation of its subject, Art History in the Age of Bellori contributes to a more nuanced understanding of Bellori's place in seventeenth-century letters and politics, art criticism, and antiquarian studies.

Introduction Janis Bell
1. Belloriana methodus: a scholar's Bildungsgeschichte in seventeenth-century Rome Giovanna Perini
2. Antiquarian modes and methods: Bellori and Filippo Buonaroti the Younger Louis Marchesano
3. Bellori and Christina of Sweden Tomaso Montanari
4. Bellori, Raffele Fabretti, and Trajan's Column Ingo Herklotz
5. Bellori as iconographer: the Veterum illustrium imagines Eugene Dwyer
6. From darkness to light: Annibale Carracci, Bellori, and ancient painting Hetty E. Joyce
7. Judicious imitation: the allegorical engravings in Bellori's lives Claire Pace and Janis Bell
8. Con modo nuovo li descrive: Bellori's method of describing Martina Hansmann
9. Scherzo: hidden meaning, genre, and generic criticism in Bellori's Lives Anthony Colantuono
10. Bellori's analysis of colore in Domenichinos' Last Communion of St. Jerome Janis Bell
11. The second edition of Bellori's Lives: placing Luca Giordano in the canon of moderns Thomas Willette.