These three oil-on-canvas portraits of Giovanni Battista Morgagni were made by italian painter Antonio Belloni (Forlì, c. 1720-1790) in different moments of Morgagni’s life. The three portraits belong to the Pinacoteca civica of Forlì and are displayed in a room of the public library of Palazzo del Merenda, former seat of the ancient hospital, the Ospedale della Casa di Dio per gli Infermi.
The third portrait – the one in which Morgagni puts his hand on a copy of his Adversaria Anatomica – was painted in 1751, as we know by an inscription who was readable on the back of the picture before the restoration: “RITRATTO UNICO DEL CELEBRE ANATOMICO GIAMBATT.A MORGAGNI NASCOSTAM. FATTO DA D.BELLONI PER ORDINE DEL SIGN. ANTONIO CORTINI PROFES. DI CHIRURGIA IN SUA CASA LI 9 MAG. 1751”.
- Photos courtesy of the Servizio Pinacoteca e Musei del Comune di Forlì
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