Prospero Spani (16 February 1516 – 25 May 1584) was an Italian sculptor of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, active mainly in the

Province of Reggio Emilia The province of Reggio Emilia (; Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The capital city, which is the most densely populated ''comune'' (municipality) in the province, is Reggio Emilia. It has an ...

. He is variously known as Prospero Clementi or Prospero Clemente or il Clemente.

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ide ...

claimed he was Modenese.

Biography

Spani was born and died in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

. He initially trained with his grandfather, Bartolommeo Clementi, and then apprenticed with

Antonio Begarelli Antonio Begarelli, also known as Begarino (1499–1565) was an Italian sculptor. In the 16th century, he was the dominant force in terracotta production in Modena. Life He was born at Modena. Antonio is said to have been instructed by Giovanni ...

. He soon modeled much of his work after the

mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

style of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. The ''Funeral Monument for the blessed Bernardo degli Uberti'' (1544) in the

Cathedral of Parma Parma Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. It is an important Italian Romanesque architecture, Romanesque ...

is his first work. He also completed some works for the Prati family in Parma. In the church of San Andrea in Mantua, he sculpted a monument for the Bishop Andreossi (Andreasi) (1549), with a sphinx and bronze swan, flanked by sculptures of ''Faith'' and ''Charity'' . He also worked for the Cathedral of

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Carpi * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Roman Catholic titular see People ...

and the church of San Domenico in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. He was prolific in his native Reggio Emilia, where he left in a bronze tabernacle; and a monument of Bishop Rangone (Rangoni) in 1567, for which, after five years, he was handsomely paid 1250 gold scudi. He complete a monument for Bishop Filippo Zoboli (1554) in San Nicolò of Reggio Emilia, which is flanked by grieving maidens. Algarotti extolled him as the "''Antonio Allegri, Correggio of sculpture''". William Waters, less kindly, called his works "''some of the worst sculpture of the time..monstrous..and absurdity''". For the Cathedral of Reggio Emilia, he completed a ''Christ with the Cross'' and statues of ''St Grisanto and St Daria'' outside west door, while over the main portal, he had statues of a recumbent ''Adam and Eve'' (1552–1557). He also completed statues of ''Lepidus and Hercules'' at Modena, the statue of ''St Procolo'' for the Volta tomb at

, and a recumbent Figure of Alberto Pio del Carpi in the Louvre.Waters, Page 212-213

Notes and sources

* * Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors, and architects, Volume 4 (1883) By Giorgio Vasari, translated by Jonathan Foster. Publishers George Bell and Sons, London. Page 51

* Italian Sculptors. William George Waters. (1926) Methuem, Publisher. pages 212–213. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spani, Prospero 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Italian Renaissance sculptors 1516 births 1584 deaths