Altamura's large canvas odi vecchi, amori nuovi, set inside the church of orsanmichele, was executed in florence in 1864 and exhibited that same year, out of catalogue, at the promotrice in naples. The subject was inspired by an old narrative of the rival florentine families of the buondelmonte and the amidei. The work was painted during altamura's final period in florence, where he resided from 1849 to 1867, before suffering the severe mental disorders that forced him to return to naples where he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The city of naples had allocated the sum of 18,000 lira for the purchase of works of art from the artist, half of which was earmarked for this painting alone. However, the municipal commission excluded the work from the list of paintings, perhaps in order to favour prince gioacchino colonna who had expressed an interest in acquiring it. Thus, the prince, a personal friend and admirer of altamura, became its owner. Critics consider this to be the most important painting by the artist from foggia. Object Type: painting. Genre: history painting. Date: 1864. Place of creation: Florence. Dimensions: height: 163 cm (64.1 in) ; width: 223 cm (87.7 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Francesco Saverio Altamura - Odi vecchi, amori nuovi
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