Room 5: Amos and Giuseppe Cassioli

In this room, we can admire a series of portraits and other sketches or genre works by Amos Cassioli. The centerpiece is a monumental painting by his son Giuseppe, depicting a Crucifixion. The tour concludes with a work especially cherished by Giuseppe: a portrait of his wife, Chiara Lardori. Notice the three dates written beneath the artist’s signature—1899, 1918, and 1935—indicating the long process of its creation.

After studying in Siena under Luigi Mussini, Amos Cassioli lived in Rome from 1856 to 1860, supported by a scholarship from the Grand Duke, before moving to Florence while maintaining strong ties with Siena. Known for his skill in psychological portraiture, he also gained recognition for his grand historical works, such as *The Battle of Legnano* (1870) and *The Oath of Pontida* (1884). Between 1884 and 1886, he painted frescoes depicting the *Battle of San Martino and Palestro* in the Hall of the Risorgimento in Siena. Additionally, he became celebrated for his paintings of daily life in antiquity, in a style reminiscent of Alma Tadema, which was highly appreciated in the bourgeois society of the time.

The son of Amos and Lucrezia Chiari, Giuseppe Cassioli was a versatile artist—painter, sculptor, and architect. His works span from designs for tabernacles and medals to funerary monuments, portraits, sketches for religious decorations, historical paintings, and costume watercolors from the 18th century. Among his public works are his collaborations with his father on the frescoes in the Hall of the Risorgimento in Siena (1886), the bronze doors of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence (1888-1899), the funerary monument for Rossini in Santa Croce, Florence, and the dome decoration of the Basilica of San Luca in Bologna (1918-1932).