Statuae antiquae deorum et virorum illustrium, in Museum florentinum , 1731-1766, 12 volumi

Anton Francesco Gori was a well-known scholar and archaeologist, who was appointed by Grand Duke Gian Gastone de’ Medici as professor of sacred and profane history at the Studio Fiorentino in 1730. A few years later, Gori began the impressive publishing project of the Museum Florentinum, dedicated to Gian Gastone de’ Medici, which aimed to illustrate the antiquities and the artistic objects that were preserved, mainly, in the grand ducal collections. A society of noble supporters was formed to finance the project. The publication was entrusted to the scholar-typographer Francesco Möucke, while illustrious artists, such as Giovanni Domenico Campiglia, were called in to execute the engravings reproducing the works. Valuable tomes were published about ancient gems, about the sculptures that are still present today at the Uffizi along the walls of the Gallery of Statues and Paintings, about the grand ducal numismatic collections, and finally the volumes of the Serie di ritratti degli eccellenti pittori dipinti di propria mano (Series of portraits of excellent painters painted by their own hand), with engravings reproducing the celebrated series of self-portraits started by Cardinal Leopold de' Medici.