Matthaeus San Giovanni in Laterano 2006-09-07

Camillo Rusconi (14 July 1658 – 8 December 1728) was an Italian sculptor of the late

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. His style displays both features of

and

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

. He has been described as a

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

in marble.

Biography

Initially trained in his hometown of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

with Giuseppe Rusnati. By 1685-1686, he had moved to Rome and into the studio of

Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata (1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When hi ...

, who died within a year or two of his arrival. Rusconi's talent attracted commissions, for example, for plaster allegorical statues depicting four virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and strength) for the Ludovisi chapel in the church of

Sant'Ignazio la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption ...

. He then worked alongside

Le Gros Legros, LeGros or Le Gros is an ancient Norman/French surname. It literally means "the Large". Notable people with the surname or nickname include: Surname * Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), French painter and etcher * Augustus Asplet Le Gros (1840� ...

in sculpting angels for the tympanum of the altar of ''Saint Ignatius'' at the

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a full ...

. Camillo’s masterpieces are the four larger-than-life apostles (''Matthew'', ''James the Great'', ''Andrew'', and ''John'') completed during 1708-1718 for the niches of the

Archbasilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

(San Giovanni in Laterano). This sculptural program was the major such project in the Rome of his day. The other main sculptors for the project, Le Gros and Pierre-Etienne Monnot, each only garnered two apostles.

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

had established a committee to select the artists, and included

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof tha ...

and Rusconi's friend, Carlo Maratta, in the panel. The classical restraint of the figures was to set a trend toward

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

. Other works include some of the architectural decoration for

San Silvestro in Capite The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First, also known as ( it, San Silvestro in Capite, la, Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on t ...

San Salvatore in Lauro San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located on a piazza of the same name in the rione Ponte. It stands on Via Vecchiarelli, just south of the Lungotevere Tor di Nona and north of via dei Coronari. Within Ro ...

, and for the Chiesa Nuova ( Santa Maria in Vallicella). He also completed the tomb of

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

(1715–1723) for the St. Peter's; the tomb of ''Bartolomeo Corsino'' in San Giovanni in Laterano, and of the ''principe Alessandro Sobieski'' in the church of Santa Maria della Concezione. He also complete the portrait of ''Giulia Albani degli Olivieri'', the powerful aunt of Clement XI, (presently in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...

, Vienna). His tomb for Caesar Fabretti (? -1700) is on the first pillar to the left in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Among his pupils were

Pietro Bracci Pietro Bracci (1700–1773) was an Italian sculptor working in the Late Baroque manner. Biography He was born in Rome and became a student of Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari and Camillo Rusconi. His most familiar works are the colossal ''Oceanus' ...

Giovanni Battista Maini Giovanni Battista Maini (6 February 1690 – 29 July 1752) was an Italian sculptor of the Late-Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. He was born in Cassano Magnago in Lombardy, and died in Rome. He may have had contacts with Foggini in Florence ...

, and

Filippo della Valle Filippo della Valle (26 December 1698 – 29 April 1768) was an Italian late-Baroque or early Neoclassic sculptor, active mostly in Rome. Biography Della Valle was born in Florence. Initially apprenticed with Giovanni Battista Foggini in F ...

. In 1727, he was named ''principe'' of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusconi, Camillo 1658 births 1728 deaths Artists from Milan 17th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Italian Baroque sculptors 18th-century Italian sculptors Catholic sculptors 18th-century Italian male artists