A New History of Italian Painting

work by Cavalcaselle and Crowe

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July 1, 2026

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A New History of Italian Painting is a seminal work by Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle and J.A. Crowe, published in 1864. This book is considered a foundational text in modern Italian art-historical studies.1

The authors employed a rigorous methodology, focusing on direct study of artworks. This approach, later championed by Giovanni Morelli, emphasized analyzing characteristic details, such as the rendering of ears or fingernails, to accurately attribute paintings. Cavalcaselle and Crowe's work covered a broad spectrum of Italian painting, contributing significantly to the field of art criticism and the accurate cataloging of masterpieces.21

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Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle
…Cavalcaselle published their great work, A New History of Italian Painting, which was followed by A History of Painting in North Italy (1871). Their other joint works were Titian (1877) and Raphael (1882–85). Cavalcaselle’s sketchbooks and notes, preserved in the Marciana Library in Venice, are evidence of his method and…
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…Cavalcaselle published their great work, A New History of Italian Painting, which was followed by A History of Painting in North Italy (1871). Their other joint works were Titian (1877) and Raphael (1882–85). Cavalcaselle’s sketchbooks and notes, preserved in the Marciana Library in Venice, are evidence of his method and…
Read More