Room 4: The Roman Sojourn

Angelo Visconti, born in Siena in 1829, studied under Francesco Nenci until the arrival of the new Director, Luigi Mussini, who, although he valued Visconti’s talent in drawing, favored the younger Amos Cassioli. In 1854, Visconti won the “Biringucci Scholarship,” which awarded him a four-year stay in Rome and six months in Europe. In 1858, while in Rome, he joined Cassioli, who had already been residing there for two years, supported by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Both artists were influenced by the French painters at the Villa Medici: Visconti specialized in action scenes, while Cassioli focused on psychological portraits.