Giovanni Pileri: «il migliore de' restauratori» nella Roma di Tommaso Minardi

Giovanni Pileri, restorer working in Rome and in the Papal State, is a little-known figure in the Roman art scene of the 19th century. Tommaso Minardi’s student, he was defined by Ernesto Ovidi, the painter’s biographer, «the best of all the restorers». During his career, Pileri got very important commissions, like the restoration of the frescoes of the porch of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome, or the restoration of the famous altarpiece representing St. Luke painting the Virgin, attributed to Raphael. Pileri obtained such important assignments also thanks to his master’s prestige as advisor about restoration. The reconstruction of Giovanni Pileri’s work helps understanding the mechanism of the 19th century artistic labour market in Rome, in a period of decline of nobility that made public commissions more important than ever.