Giovan Pietro Bellori was one of the most important intellectuals of seventeenth-century Italy. Although best known today for his art criticism and biographies of artists he knew personally, he was also renowned for his knowledge of coins, gems, and ancient painting. This collection of essays presents new findings about Bellori's multifarious activities as well as fresh interpretations of his ideas. As a frank, unbiased reevaluation of its subject, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of Bellori's place in seventeenth-century letters and politics, art criticism, and antiquarian studies.