Pelagio Palagi
Bologna 1775 - Turin 1860
He studied at Accademia Clementina of Bologna and, thanks to his first patron, count Carlo Filippo Aldovrandi Marescotti, he became a fond collector of archaeological pieces, medals and books.
His juvenile works, inspired by Giovan Battista Piranesi’s etchings, are mostly architectural views, but after his later stay in Rome his painting fully endorsed the neoclassical style, that he became familiar with thanks to Canova, Camuccini and Ingres.
His move to Milan, where he met Hayez and engaged in genre painting, represented a turning point towards Romanticism.
When he did not obtain a teaching post at Accademia di Brera, he opened his own school and in the 1920s he was appointed to restructure and decorate Palazzo Arese Lucini and Villa Tittoni Traversi of Desio.
After obtaining a fair critical acclaim, in 1832 he was called to Turin by Charles Albert of Savoy who appointed him “painter in charge of decorating the Royal Palaces”. He worked on the Royal Palace (Railing), the Pollenzo Castle and was in charge of the expansion of the Racconigi Castle.
