Alessandro Angelini is a professor of modern art history at the University of Siena. He collaborated in several important exhibitions and their catalogues, including Disegni italiani del tempo di Donatello, Domenico Beccafumi e il suo tempo, and Francesco di Giorgio e il Rinascimento a Siena. He is a member of the editorial staff on Italy's art history journal Prospettiva.

Reconsidering the terminology art historians use to describe 17th-century Roman sculpture, this history examines how famous artists, such as Bernini, Alessandro Algardi, François Duquesnoy, and lesser-known artists influenced one another during this period. Artistic events and completed works are presented in chronological order with an emphasis on the workshop relationships that allowed accomplished sculptors to apprentice younger artists. The use of Venetian-derived color, sublime accents, and travertine and marble that marked this era created a thoroughly modern Rome as statues and other examples of sculpture were placed in gardens, homes, and churches.