Aristodemo Costoli (1803–1871) was an Italian sculptor who spent his entire career in the city of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He is also known for attempting in 1843 to clean and conserve the famed

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 ...

-era sculpture ''

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

'' by

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 ...

; unfortunately his

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

cleaning solution removed the stone's waxy protective coating and left the surface pitted and porous. His students included

Emilio Zocchi Emilio Zocchi (March 5, 1835 – January 10, 1913) was an Italian sculptor. He is best known for his busts, bas-reliefs and statuettes of classical and Renaissance individuals. Zocchi was born in Florence to parents of limited means. He stu ...

, Girolamo Masini,

Augusto Rivalta Augusto Rivalta (1835 or 1838 – April 14, 1925) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Rivalta was born in Alessandria, Italy, to Genoese parents. In 1859, he moved to Florence, but soon swept up in the patriotic events, he volunteered for the ...

and his son

Leopoldo Costoli Leopoldo Costoli (c.1850–1908) was an Italian sculptor. He was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He studied and worked with his father Aristodemo Costoli Aristodemo Costoli (1803–1871) was an Italian sculptor who spent his entir ...

Biography

Early life and career

At the age of 12 he entered the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The of ...

e Liceo Artistico in Florence to study painting under

Giuseppe Bezzuoli Giuseppe Bezzuoli (28 November 1784 – 13 September 1855) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassical and Romantic periods. Biography He was born to Luigi Bazzuoli, a farmer, and his wife Anna, née Banchieri. Later, he changed the spelling of ...

Pietro Benvenuti Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. Biography Early life and education Born in Arezzo in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style of Jacques-Louis David. He was a student of ...

and Pietro Ermini and sculpture under Stefano Ricci. A Self-portrait (1828; Florence,

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

) in oil on canvas demonstrates a Romantic style learnt from Bezzuoli and anticipates Costoli’s abilities to render portraiture in sculpture. In 1828 he won a four-year stipendium, enabling him to travel to Rome. While there he produced the over life-size gesso Menoeceus (1830; Florence, Palazzo Pitti; marble version, 1853), which was praised for its classically rendered, idealized body when exhibited at the Esposizione di Roma in 1830.

Maturity

He returned to Florence and, his reputation increasing, was appointed Assistant Master of Sculpture under

Lorenzo Bartolini Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato, 7 January 1777 Florence, 20 January 1850) was an Italian sculptor who infused his neoclassicism with a strain of sentimental piety and naturalistic detail, while he drew inspiration from the sculpture of the Florentine ...

at the Accademia in 1839. In 1842 he executed a statue of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

for the city’s Museo della Specola (now the Museo Zoologico ‘La Specola’) and a second version for the exterior loggia of the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

.In 1846 he sculpted a marble portrait bust of his patron

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, , English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1824 to 1859. He married twice; first to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, to Mari ...

(Lucca,

National Museum of Villa Guinigi The Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi is the main art museum hosting the pre-modern art collections owned by the city of Lucca, Italy. The museum is located in a refurbished villa on Via della Quarquonia, completed in 1418 for Paolo Guinigi, rul ...

). In that year he also participated in a competition for a monument to

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

, but the commission was given to Bartolini, who died before completing the full-size work; Costoli, Pietro Freccia (1814–56) and others finished it by 1862 (Genoa, Piazza Acquaverde), Costoli’s contribution being a figure of Prudence for the base and a low relief of ''Columbus Planting the Cross on the Beach''. Another sculpture with this theme is the Discovery of America (1848; Florence, Palazzo Pitti), a bronze group 860 mm high on an

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

base. Its rather small dimensions and elegant decorative qualities inspired many copies. Despite their artistic differences, in 1850 Costoli succeeded Bartolini as Professor of Sculpture at the Accademia. His last work was the monument to the singer Angelica Catalani (1867; Pisa,

Camposanto Monumentale The Camposanto Monumentale ("Monumental Cemetery"), also Camposanto Vecchio ("Old Cemetery") or simply Campo Santo, is a historical edifice at the northern edge of the Cathedral Square in Pisa, Italy. ''Campo Santo'' can be literally translated ...

), an ambitious, multi-figured work that includes figures of Charity, St. Cecilia and an angel, as well as that of the deceased in her family’s arms. Critics admired Costoli’s flawless technique and his Neoclassical style that also bore signs of a restrained naturalism, but they faulted his sculptures for a certain coldness.

Partial anthology of works

Florence * ''Galileo'' in

Tribune of Galileo file:Tribuna di galileo 03.JPG, alt=A room with a domed roof supported by round arches. The room beyond the facing arch has frescoes on the wall and a white marble statue of Galileo, also facing the viewer., Tribune of Galileo interior: view across ...

, at Museo della Specola (1832); *
Christophe Colomb
', at musée du Nouveau Monde,

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

(France); * ''Pegasus'', in

Giardino di Boboli The Boboli Gardens ( /’bo.bo.li/) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, which la ...

; * tondo dedicated to

Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio ( – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Duecento, who began as a lead assistant to Nicola Pisano. He is documented as being ''capomaestro'' or Head of Works for Florence Cathedral in 1300, and designed th ...

in Duomo di Firenze; * bust of Cosimo Buonarroti and Rosina Vendramin, in

Casa Buonarroti Casa Buonarroti is a museum in Florence, Italy that is situated on property owned by the sculptor Michelangelo that he left to his nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti. The complex of buildings was converted into a museum dedicated to the artist by his gre ...

; * ''Monument to L. Matteucci'' (1845), in

Badia Fiorentina The Badìa Fiorentina is an abbey and church now home to the Monastic Communities of Jerusalem situated on the Via del Proconsolo in the centre of Florence, Italy. Dante supposedly grew up across the street in what is now called the , rebuilt in ...

; * ''Discovery of America'', in Hall 5 of Galleria d'arte moderna (Firenze) in

; * ''Monument to Galileo'', niche in the ground-floor courtyard of the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of ...

(1851); * ''Jeremiah'' (Palazzo Pitti); * ''Funeral Monument to Della Gherardesca'' (Santa Maria del Fiore a Lapo); * Bas-relief of Villa Paolina (

Sesto Fiorentino Sesto Fiorentino (), known locally as just Sesto, is a commune in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, central Italy. History The oldest known human settlement in the area dates from the Mesolithic (c. 9,000 years ago). The Etruscan ...

). Other cities in Italy *

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

: ''Prudence'' and ''Columbus placing flag on Beach'' (1862), monument to

. *

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

: ''Monument to Cavour'' (1868), with statue dedicated to Cavour and two bas-reliefs, at Cavour square. *

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

: ''Monument to Angelica Catalani'' (1859), at

Camposanto Camposanto ( Modenese: ; Mirandolese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Modena on the Panaro river. Although the name in ...

. *

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

: ''Bust of Leopold II'', Museo nazionale di villa Guinigi. Other countries: *

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

: ''Monument to Pedro de Valdivia'' *

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

: ''Memorial to Ekaterina Arkadievna Kotchoubey and her daughter Vera'' *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Musée du Nouveau Monde, ''La découverte de l'Amérique'', marbre blanc, 78x40x26 cm * Private commissions, England. Tribuna di galileo 03.JPG, ''Galileo Galilei'' (Museo della Specola, Florence) Statua di galleo, aristodemo costoli 01.JPG, ''Galileo Galilei'' (Museo della Specola, Florence) Tribuna di galileo, busto di Leopoldo II.JPG, ''Leopold II'' (Museo della Specola, Florence) Ancona - piazza Cavour - statua a Cavour.jpeg, ''Cavour'' (Cavour square, Ancona) Ancona - Piazza Cavour - altorilievo di Aristodemo Costoli 1.JPG, ''Congress of Paris'' (Cavour square, Ancona) Ancona - Piazza Cavour - altorilievo di Aristodemo Costoli 2.JPG, ''

Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy happened with a legal norm, normative act of the House of Savoy, Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia — the law 17 March 1861, n. 4761 — with which Victor Emmanuel II assumed for himself and for his successors ...

'' (Cavour square, Ancona) Palazzo pitti, scalone del poccianti, aristodemo costoli, geremia, 1831.JPG, ''Geremia'' (Palazzo Pitti, Florence) Monumento ad Angelica Catalani di aristodemo Costoli.JPG, ''Angelica Catalani'' (Camposanto, Pisa) Santa Maria del Fiore a Lapo, int., aristodemo costoli, monumento della gherardesca 01.JPG, ''Memorial Della Gherardesca'' (Santa Maria del Fiore a Lapo, Florence) Aristodemo costoli, ritratto di cosimo buonarroti, 1850-57.JPG, ''Bust of Cosimo Buonarroti'' (Casa Buonarroti, Florence) Estatua de Pedro de Valdivia en Cerro Santa Lucía.jpg, ''Pedro de Valdivia'' (Santa Lucía hill, Santiago de Chile) Aristodemo costoli, copia in gesso del tondo di arnolfo di cambio, 1843-44.jpg, ''

'' (Florence, cathedral) Galilée Offices.jpg, ''Galileo Galilei'' (galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) Columbus genoa.jpg, ''Christopher Columbus monument'' in Genua, (only two statues on the basement)

References

Bibliography

*Mackay, James, ''The Dictionary of Sculptors in Bronze'', Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk 1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Costoli, Aristodemo 1803 births 1871 deaths Sculptors from Florence 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 19th-century Italian male artists Artists from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany