Francesco Algarotti

Francesco Algarotti
Portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard (1745), Rijksmuseum, on parchment
Born11 December 1712 (1712-12-11)
Died3 May 1764 (1764-05-04) (aged 51)
NationalityVenetian
Alma materSapienza University of Rome University of Bologna
OccupationPhilosopher

Count Francesco Algarotti (11 December 1712 – 3 May 1764) was an Italian polymath, philosopher, poet, essayist, anglophile, art critic and art collector. He was a man of broad knowledge, an expert in Newtonianism, architecture and opera. He was a friend of Frederick the Great and leading authors of his times: Voltaire, Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis and the atheist Julien Offray de La Mettrie. Lord Chesterfield, Thomas Gray, George Lyttelton, Thomas Hollis, Metastasio, Benedict XIV and Heinrich von Brühl were among his correspondents.[1]

  1. ^ Eighteenth Century Bibliography. "Francesco Algarotti Bibliography". C18.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2012.