Andrea Bolgi
Andrea Bolgi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1605 Carrara |
| Died | 1656 (aged 50–51) Naples |
| Education | Florence |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Notable work | Saint Helena,St. Peter's Basilica |
| Movement | Baroque |
| Patron(s) | Pope Urban VIII Pope Innocent X Giovan Camillo Cacace |
Andrea Bolgi(22 June 1605 – 1656)[1]was an Italian sculptor responsible for several statues inSt. Peter's Basilica,Rome. Towards the end of his life he moved to Naples, where he sculpted portrait busts. He died in Naples during a plague epidemic.[2]
Early life
[edit]Bolgi was born in the marble-working city ofCarrara.[3]His training was inFlorence,which was a conservative center in the seventeenth century.
In 1626, along withFrancesco Baratta,he was sent to Rome, where he joined the studio of sculptors employed byGian Lorenzo Bernini,[4]who were influenced by Bernini'sBaroquestyle. From 1626, before the expansion of Bernini'satélier,Bolgi supplantedGiuliano Finelli(1601–1653) as the "only man of consequence" in Bernini's studio, Rudolph Wittkower observed, in attributing to Bolgi theBust of Thomas Bakerbegun by Bernini, now at theVictoria and Albert Museum.[5]
St. Peter's
[edit]Bolgi created hisSaint Helena(1629–1639) for one of the niches at thecrossingofSt. Peter's Basilica,one of the choice commissions of his generation, for which he had doubtless been promoted by Bernini in preference to Finelli.[6]Bolgi laboured for a decade on the figure that epitomised his career and, in some degree, his detraction: Wittkower remarked on its "classicizing coolness, its boring precision",[7]and its position directly across from Bernini's masterfulSaint Longinusinvited unflattering comparisons.[8]
Between 1647 and 1650 all thespandrelspaces above the arches of thenaveof St. Peter's were filled withstuccofigures. Their execution was divided among sculptors with connections with Bernini, who seems to have exercised loose control over the compositions. In the first bay on the left, the spandrel figures ofThe ChurchandDivine Justicewere given to Bolgi, who was paid for them in September 1647 and in March 1648.Pope Innocent Xwas dissatisfied with Bolgi's figures, which were taken down, adjusted to everyone's satisfaction, and reinstalled[9]
Naples
[edit]After 1650 Bolgi moved to Naples, where he was noted for his portrait busts.[10]He was called to Naples by Giovan Camillo Cacace, a lawyer and member of theAccademia degli Oziosi.For this client Bolgi created two sculptures in the Cacace family chapel inSan Lorenzo Maggiore.The kneeling figures are Giuseppe and Vittoria De Caro. Iconographically they derive from the scheme of the statue of Fabrizio Pignatelli byMichelangelo Naccherino.The movement and whirling of the cloths is a clear step forward in the development of the Baroque language, until then not known to the Neapolitan public. Beneath the sculptures are busts of Francesco De Caro and Giovan Camillo Cacace. The latter is renowned for its vivid portrayal of the client.
Main works
[edit]- 1629–1639: Statue of Saint Helena in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
- 1634–1648: Other small works in St. Peter's
- 1637:Bust of Laura Frangipani,signed and dated (San Francesco a Ripa,Rome)
- Half-length figures in the Raimondi Chapel (San Pietro in Montorio,Rome)
- 1653: Statues and busts in the Cacace chapel, signed and dated, inSan Lorenzo Maggiore,Naples
- 1653:Candelabrain bronze, in the church ofSanti Apostoli,Naples
Notes
[edit]- ^Tiraboschi, Girolamo (1786).Notizie de' pittori, scultori, incisori, e architetti natii degli stati del Serenissimo Signor Duca di Modena.Modena: Presso la Societa' Tipografica. p.124.
- ^G. Tiraboschi.
- ^His early biography is inLione Pascoli,Vite de' pittori, scultori ed architetti...(1736) vol. ii, 436-39, and in G.-B. Passeri,Vite de' pittori, scultori ed architetti...(1772), Jacob Hess, ed. (1934).
- ^Rudolf Wittkower,Bernini,passim.
- ^R. Wittkower, "Bernini Studies – II: The 'Bust of Mr Baker'",The Burlington Magazine95No. 598 (January 1953:18–22).
- ^Wittkower 1953:21.
- ^Wittkower,Art and Architecture... (1973:306)
- ^Robert Enggass, "New Attributions in St. Peter's: The Spandrel Figures in the Nave"The Art Bulletin60.1 (March 1978:96–108) p. 100, quotes Roberto Cicognara's negative assessment in 1824.
- ^Enggass 1978: 96–108) pp 99–101.
- ^Martinelli, Valentino (1959). "Andrea Bolgi a Roma e a Napoli".Commentari.10:137–58.;Nava Cellini, Antonia (1962). "Ritratti di Andrea Bolgi".Paragone.13:24–40.
External links
[edit]
- Roberto Piperno, "The statues in the octagon of St. Peter's"Brief survey of the commission overseen by Bernini.
- St Helen's statue in St Peter's
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