Collecting copper plates between Venice and Rome in the seventeenth century. Cardinal Alessandro Orsini, the Old Masters and the sciences

Cardinal Alessandro Orsini is principally characterized by his passion for science and interest in the arts. New research has made it possible to reconstruct his biography and the dynamics that led to the formation of his art collection. Uniquely in Rome, it comprised numerous copper plates identified by the author as works by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas van Leyden and Hans Sebald Beham. The Cardinal was among the main patrons of the Stamperia Ducale at Bracciano; the author suggests that he purchased the copper plates in Venice from the merchant Daniel Nijs. This has made it possible to trace a hitherto unknown story involving the dissemination of art works, made possible by Orsini’s constant journeys between Rome, Bracciano and the cities of Northern Europe, which allowed him to establish relationships with the period’s most important thinkers, develop open-minded intellectual views and increase his own collection with a preference for Venetian painting.