Fratelli Alinari Paintings

The name 'Fratelli Alinari' refers not to an individual artist, but to a photography studio and company established by three brothers in Florence, Italy. The Alinari brothers—Leopoldo (1832–1865), Giuseppe (1836–1890), and Romualdo (1830–1891)—founded Fratelli Alinari in 1852, which is recognized as the oldest firm in the world working in the field of photography, photographic publishing, and image archives.

The Alinari brothers began their enterprise focusing on photographic portraiture, but they soon expanded their scope to document the art, architecture, and landscape of Italy. Their work was pioneering in the field of art reproduction, and they became particularly renowned for their meticulous photographs of artworks, which played a vital role in the study and dissemination of Renaissance art. The high quality of their prints helped to establish photography as a credible medium for reproducing artworks.

After the death of the original founders, the firm continued to be run by their relatives and other partners, who expanded the business further. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fratelli Alinari built an extensive archive, which included historical photographs taken by the company as well as acquired collections of vintage prints and negatives. The archive grew to include millions of images, documenting not only Italian art and architecture but also everyday life, cultural events, and important historical moments.

Today, the Alinari brand continues to be synonymous with high-quality photography and maintains an extensive archive that is invaluable to historians, scholars, and the general public. While the company has modernized and diversified, it still respects the legacy of the Alinari brothers by preserving and promoting the history of photography. The firm has also embraced new technologies and offers digital services, including the digitization of images and production of fine art prints. The Alinari National Museum of Photography in Florence is dedicated to the history of photography and the work of the Alinari brothers and their successors.