Portrait of Ferdinando di Borbone

Alessandro Alberganti (notizie 1783-1795)
1795, Oil on canvas

To effigy Don Ferdinand I of Bourbon, who ruled the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza from 1765 to 1802, the author depicts him elegantly with the most important honors - in the foreground that of the Holy Spirit and the Golden Fleece, pinned to his vest the Cross of the Constantinian Order of Saint George - and wearing a vest of elaborate fabric. The author signs on the verso, also dating his work, with an inscription that reads: "Alexander Alberganti pinxit anno 1795." Very little is known about him: he was from Parma, studied at the Academy and was a pupil of Benigno Bossi, who received happy results at internal competitions in 1783. The first indication of chronology concerning him is in 1788, indicated in two paintings preserved in the National Gallery. It is also known that he drew The Baptism of Christ for engraver Guglielmo Silvestri and worked as a portrait painter.