MERCURY AND MINERVA, GIOVANNI BARATTA (1640-1747) ITALIAN, FLORENCE, CIRCA 1695-1705
GIOVANNI BARATTA (1640-1747)
ITALIAN, FLORENCE, CIRCA 1695-1705
terracotta
heights 18 and 18 7/8 in.; 46 and 48 cm., upon ormolu-mounted marble bases
Provenance:
These statuettes of ancient gods, standing with their traditional attributes, are not bozzetti but rather finished sculptures by the distinguished sculptor of the Florentine late Baroque, Giovanni Baratta.
Both Sandro Bellesi and Francesco Freddolini attribute this pair to Baratta by drawing comparisons with documented works by the artist created during his early years in Florence when he was engaged with small-scale sculpture. These terracottas share many distinguishing features, such as the type and details in Minerva’s helmet and the interpretation of her accoutrements, with Baratta’s Allegory of Fortitude, formerly in a Milanese collection (Freddolini, op. cit., p. 169, fig. 21), and the marble relief depicting Fortitude in the church of San Ferdinando in Livorno (op. cit., p. 222, no. 51). Similarities to the posture, modelling of the torso and the use of drapery over the arm (although in reverse) can be drawn with the Hermes, formerly in the Farnese Palace in Rome, a collection that Baratta studied extensively during his training there. Perhaps the strongest comparisons can be made to Baratta’s facial types and his depiction of drapery. Baratta’s drapery appears to quiver while cascading in long folds down the body, much like that of his Angel-lectern in Caldi (Pisa), Certosa, circa 1696-1702 (Freddolini et. al., 2010, op. cit., fig. 2) and his monumental figures of Prudence and Wealth commissioned by the Guigni Family, circa 1703-1708, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Freddolini et. al., 2010, op. cit., fig. 2).
The sculptor began his career in Florence as a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, but in Rome, under the supervision of Camillo Rusconi and Domenico Guidi, he developed his individual style. After returning to Florence in 1696, Baratta received commissions to create sculptures for a variety of churches. Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici's recommendation led to Baratta's first major commission in Florence, Tobias and the Angel unveiled in 1698, for the church of Santo Spirito. At the beginning of the 18th century he enjoyed the patronage of important international clients, including King Frederick IV, King of Denmark. When visiting the sculptor’s Florentine studio in 1709, the king purchased a group of sculptures that are now in the gardens of Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. In 1710 the Duke of Marlborough commissioned two allegorical marble sculptures of Glory and Virtue, the first of which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
In the 1720s, Baratta was appointed Court Sculptor to Vittoria Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and Sicily and in the mid 1730s he was introduced to the House of Bourbon. The quality of his work and the magnitude of the commission for the façade of the royal palace of La Granja in San Ildefonso for King Philip V afforded the sculptor great respect and international notoriety.
RELATED LITERATURE
Hugh Honour, ‘Count Giovanni Baratta and his Brothers’ in Connoisseur, cxlii, 1958, pp. 170–177
Francesco Freddolini, Carlo Milano, John Winter, Giovanni Baratta: the statues from the Palazzo Giugni rediscovered, Trinity Fine Art, London, 2010
Francesco Freddolini, Giovanni Baratta, 1670-1747. Scultura e Industria del Marmo tra la Toscana e le Corti d’Europa, Rome, 2013
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GIOVANNI BARATTA (1640-1747)
ITALIAN, FLORENCE, CIRCA 1695-1705
terracotta
heights 18 and 18 7/8 in.; 46 and 48 cm., upon ormolu-mounted marble bases
Provenance:
These statuettes of ancient gods, standing with their traditional attributes, are not bozzetti but rather finished sculptures by the distinguished sculptor of the Florentine late Baroque, Giovanni Baratta.
Both Sandro Bellesi and Francesco Freddolini attribute this pair to Baratta by drawing comparisons with documented works by the artist created during his early years in Florence when he was engaged with small-scale sculpture. These terracottas share many distinguishing features, such as the type and details in Minerva’s helmet and the interpretation of her accoutrements, with Baratta’s Allegory of Fortitude, formerly in a Milanese collection (Freddolini, op. cit., p. 169, fig. 21), and the marble relief depicting Fortitude in the church of San Ferdinando in Livorno (op. cit., p. 222, no. 51). Similarities to the posture, modelling of the torso and the use of drapery over the arm (although in reverse) can be drawn with the Hermes, formerly in the Farnese Palace in Rome, a collection that Baratta studied extensively during his training there. Perhaps the strongest comparisons can be made to Baratta’s facial types and his depiction of drapery. Baratta’s drapery appears to quiver while cascading in long folds down the body, much like that of his Angel-lectern in Caldi (Pisa), Certosa, circa 1696-1702 (Freddolini et. al., 2010, op. cit., fig. 2) and his monumental figures of Prudence and Wealth commissioned by the Guigni Family, circa 1703-1708, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Freddolini et. al., 2010, op. cit., fig. 2).
The sculptor began his career in Florence as a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, but in Rome, under the supervision of Camillo Rusconi and Domenico Guidi, he developed his individual style. After returning to Florence in 1696, Baratta received commissions to create sculptures for a variety of churches. Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici's recommendation led to Baratta's first major commission in Florence, Tobias and the Angel unveiled in 1698, for the church of Santo Spirito. At the beginning of the 18th century he enjoyed the patronage of important international clients, including King Frederick IV, King of Denmark. When visiting the sculptor’s Florentine studio in 1709, the king purchased a group of sculptures that are now in the gardens of Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. In 1710 the Duke of Marlborough commissioned two allegorical marble sculptures of Glory and Virtue, the first of which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
In the 1720s, Baratta was appointed Court Sculptor to Vittoria Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and Sicily and in the mid 1730s he was introduced to the House of Bourbon. The quality of his work and the magnitude of the commission for the façade of the royal palace of La Granja in San Ildefonso for King Philip V afforded the sculptor great respect and international notoriety.
RELATED LITERATURE
Hugh Honour, ‘Count Giovanni Baratta and his Brothers’ in Connoisseur, cxlii, 1958, pp. 170–177
Francesco Freddolini, Carlo Milano, John Winter, Giovanni Baratta: the statues from the Palazzo Giugni rediscovered, Trinity Fine Art, London, 2010
Francesco Freddolini, Giovanni Baratta, 1670-1747. Scultura e Industria del Marmo tra la Toscana e le Corti d’Europa, Rome, 2013
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