Francesco Baratta the elder (c. 1590–1666) was an Italian sculptor of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period. He was born in Massa di Carrara, and moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to work under

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

. He was one of many siblings, one of whom, Francesco, became an architect. Bernini had him carve the bas-relief for the altar in the chapel of St Francis of Assisi made for the Marchese Raimondi di Savona for the chapel in

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

. The statue of the ''Rio della Plata'' in the

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (''Fountain of the Four Rivers'') is a fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza as ...

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

is attributed to Francesco. He completed a number of statues of ''Hercules'', ''Lucrezia'', and ''Cleopatra'' for the royal gallery of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. His nephew,

Giovanni Baratta Giovanni Baratta (1670–1747) was an Italian sculptor of the late-Baroque period. He was born in Carrara, but active in Florence and Livorno. He was a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini. He has sculptures in church of San Ferdinando, Livor ...

was also a sculptor. Passeri describes him as imprudent and unruly in drinking and smoking, living without rules.Passeri, page 362-3

References

* * 1590s births 1666 deaths People from Carrara Italian Baroque sculptors Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Pupils of Gian Lorenzo Bernini {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub