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Fratelli D'Alessandri - Pope Pius IX, 1865

Maker: Antonio (1818-1893) and Paolo Francesco (1824-1889) D'Alessandri

Born: Italy

Active: Italy

Medium: albumen print

Size: 2 1/4 in x 4 in

Location:

 

Object No. 2023.615

Shelf: E-15-ITAL

 

Publication: Les Freres Bisson Photographes, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, 1999, cat 22

Nineteenth Century Photographs at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 1989, pg 114

 

Other Collections: BnF, University of New Mexico Art Museum

 

Provenance:

Rank: 43

 

Notes: This photograph is often attributed to the French photographers Bisson Freres, but most likely they purchased it from the d’Alessandri Brothers. This print contains a d’Alessandri blind stamp. Antonio (1818-1893) and his brother Paolo Francesco d’Alessandri (1824-1889) were among the earliest photographers in Rome to use the collodion process of creating prints on paper. They were well established by the end of the 1850's. Antonio was a Roman Catholic priest who received a waiver to practice photography on condition that he did not wear clerical garb. As a priest, D'Alessandri was able to gain access to the Vatican and soon became a favored photographer of Pope Pius IX. This relationship to the Church lasted for more than a decade until they fell out of favor and the Vatican revoked their special privileges. Antonio ended up leaving the priesthood.

 

Pope Pius IX (Italian: Pio; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was head of the Catholic Church from 16 June 1846 to his death on 7 February 1878. He was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving for over 31 years. During his pontificate, Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which decreed papal infallibility, but the council was cut short owing to the loss of the Papal States

 

 

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Uploaded on June 25, 2023
Taken on June 26, 2023