Bologna Celebrates Long-Overlooked 19th-Century Painter Luigi Busi with First Solo Show

The non-profit association Bologna per le Arti, founded in 1999 to revive interest in 19th- and early-20th-century Bolognese painting, is mounting the first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to Luigi Busi (1837–1884) in his native city. The show, the 14th in the association's annual retrospective series, opens at Palazzo d'Accursio in collaboration with the Comune di Bologna. Curator Stella Ingino explains that Busi, despite winning numerous prizes and creating major public works—including decorations for the Sala Rossa in the Palazzo Comunale, the Pala dei Santi Vitale e Agricola, and frescoes at the Teatro Comunale—has fallen into obscurity. The exhibition gathers about forty works from public and private collections, alongside pieces by Busi's teachers and contemporaries. A scholarly catalogue accompanies the show. Association president Gianarturo Borsari highlights the challenge of assembling a representative body of work given Busi's early death and limited output. The exhibition is free and runs with a series of talks.