Francis Bernasconi

Francis Bernasconi
Born	Francis Bernasconi 1762 Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	1 January 1841(1841-01-01)(aged 78–79) Bloomsbury,LondonU.K.
Occupation(s)	ornamental carver and plasterer
Parent	Bartholomew (Bartolomeo) Bernasconi (father)
Relatives	Bartholomew (son) and Frances (daughter) George Vincent Bernasconi (nephew)

Francis Bernasconi(1762 – 1 January 1841), akaFrancisco Bernasconi,was an English ornamental carver and plasterer of Italian descent. He became one of the most successful ornamental carvers and plasterers in Georgian Britain.

Early life

Francis Bernasconi was the son of Bartholomew (Bartolomeo) Bernasconi (died 1786), who hailed from a family of architects and stuccoists from the environs ofLugano,Switzerland.He is likely to have been related to the ornamental plasterer Bernardo or Bernato Bernasconi, "a poor man with a large fameley in the town ofBuckingham".His more distant cousins of the same Lugano dynasty included various architects, sculptors and stuccatore active in Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia.

Works

• Gothic stucco work forCobham Hall,Kent(1800–1809)
• Stucco work in the Great Tower ofWestminster Abbey(1803)
• Mouldings, angels and heraldic shields inWindsor Castle(1805)
• Interior plasterwork in Laurieston House, 51-2 Carlton Place,Glasgow(1806). In this he worked for architect Peter Nicholson. His work here was of theNeo-ClassicalAdam Styleand he collaborated with a team of Italian craftsmen. The recent excavations atHerculaneumandPompeiiprovided inspiration for the design of the figurative mouldings, reliefs and other decorative plasterwork. There are also references to classical mythology such asCastor and Pollux,HectorandAndromache,Aeneascarrying Anchises and The Temptations ofHercules.This is the finest intactGeorgianhouse in the cityandlisted category A,however it is boarded up and inaccessible. There is a statue ofMinervain this house, but it is not known if this is Bernasconi's work.
• Plasterwork at Grosvenor House, London (1807). He was paid £2,097.

• 1809-11 the plasterwork of the grand staircase hall at Taymouth Castle for the Marquis of Breadalbane

• Repairs toTrinity CollegeinCambridge,usingRoman cementto cover the east side of the great court (1810).
• Repairs to the choir screen inYork Minster(1814-1818).
• Gothic ornaments atChicksands Priory,Bedfordshire(1816).
• Carving of the canopy of theCardinal Wolsleystatue,Christ Church, Oxford(1819).
• The grand staircase inBuckingham Palace,for which he was employed by thePrince Regentto model four sculpture groups from designs by Alfred Joseph Stothard. (1820).
• Gothic decoration atBlithfield Hall(1822). The patron, Lord Bagot, described his work on the Great Hall as being "as perfect a specimen... as has ever been executed in modern times."
• Altarpiece,Westminster Abbey(1825).

Family

He had two children, a son Bartholomew and a daughter Frances, both of whom survived him. His nephew, George Vincent Bernasconi (b. 25 December 1805), was employed in Francis Bernasconi's company.George Henry Bernasconi(24 November 1841 – 1916), (son of George Vincent Bernasconi) was a successfulBirminghamillustrator and photographer.

Death

He died on 1 January 1841 from asthma at his home of 19 Alfred Place inBloomsbury,London.

References

• Glasgow, City of Sculpture
• Copy of Francis Bernasconi's Death Certificate, St Giles in the Fields & St George Bloomsbury Registration district.
• Francis Bernasconi's Last Will and Testament, proved 10 July 1841
• George Henry Bernasconi Family Register.
• George Henry Bernasconi's marriage certificate.