Thorvaldsens_Museum_-_Giovanni_Battista_Sommariva

Giovanni or Gian Battista Sommariva (died 6 January 1826,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

) was an Italian politician of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

and a notable arts patron.

Biography

Born in 1762 in

Sant'Angelo Lodigiano Sant'Angelo Lodigiano (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southwest of Lodi, Lombardy, Lodi. People *Giovanni Battista Sommariva (176 ...

, of a humble family, he eventually became a wealthy

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He was living in Milan by 1796 when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

’s army entered the city. Sommariva took the side of the French and he was recruited to become secretary general of the directory of the

. In 1799, he fled from Milan to France to escape the armies of

Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

. He returned to Italy after the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General ...

and was the virtual

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

of Milan from 1800 to 1802, amassing a personal fortune and making many enemies due to his unscrupulous behaviour. When Napoleon replaced him with

Francesco Melzi d'Eril Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi, Count of Magenta (6 March 1753 – 16 January 1816) was an Italian politician and patriot, serving as vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805). He was a consistent supporter of the ...

, Sommariva turned his attention to building a collection of contemporary art, which he displayed in his

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

(now the

Villa Carlotta Villa Carlotta is a villa and botanical garden in Tremezzo on Lake Como in Northern Italy. Today the villa is a museum, whose collection includes works by sculptors such as Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Giovanni Migliara; painters such ...

) at

Tremezzo Tremezzo is a ''comune'' (or municipality) of some 1,300 people in the Province of Como, in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). It is located on the western sho ...

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

. In 1806 he moved to Paris, bought a town house there, as well as large a

country estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner. British context In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and ...

at Montmorency, north of the city, and increased his patronage of contemporary artists. He commissioned works from many important French and Italian artists of the early 19th century, including

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

(e.g. ''Cupid and Psyche'', 1817;

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

). Sommariva preferred the Neoclassical style and mythological subjects, which often stress the theme of peace and its delights. He was the most important patron in France of Italian sculptors, especially of

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

, whose '' Penitent Magdalene'' (marble, 1794–6; Genoa, Museo di Sant'Agostino) he acquired. He also commissioned

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

and enamels after his paintings for the purpose of advertising his collection and furthering his social ambitions. His liaison with

Sophie d'Houdetot Elisabeth Françoise Sophie Lalive de Bellegarde, Comtesse d'Houdetot (18 December 1730 – 28 January 1813) was a French noblewoman. She is remembered primarily for the brief but intense love she inspired in Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1757, but sh ...

placed him within the circle of her influential salon. Following his death in 1826 his son Luigi Sommariva took part of the Paris collection to the villa on Lake Como, where he continued to add to it. After Luigi’s death in 1838 most of the paintings and sculptures remaining from his father’s collection in Paris, including many copies of

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

paintings, were auctioned by Luigi’s widow. Three paintings by

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (, 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Romantic Painting, painter and drawing, draughtsman best known for his allegorical paintings and portraits such as ''Madame Georges Anthony and Her Two Sons'' (1796). ...

set record prices at auction; another painting, ''Transported by Zephyrs'' (1808), was donated to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

References

Bibliography

* Gabriella Tassinari - Incisori in pietre dure e collezionisti a Milano nel primo ottocento: il caso di Antonio Berini e Giovanni Battista Sommariva
Le gemme incise nel settecento e ottocento
- Continuità della tradizione classica. (Atti del Convegno di studio, Udine, 26 settembre 1998). Editore L'Erma di Bretschneider 2006 *P.E. Visconti - Notizia delle opera dell'incisore in pietre dure e in coni Cav. Giuseppe Girometti - Roma tipografia Boulzaler 1833 Dedicato alla Eminenza Reverendissima del Sig. cardinale

Mario Mattei Mario Mattei (6 September 1792, Pergola, Marche – 7 October 1870) was an Italian Cardinal, of the Roman noble House of Mattei. He became Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1860. Personal life Mario Mattei was born on 6 September 1792 in Pergo ...

*Patrick Kragelund, Bertel Thorvaldsen, Mogens Nykjæ
Thorvaldsen: l'ambiente, l'influsso, il mito
edito da L'Erma di Bretschneider 1991 pag.96 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommariva, Gian Battista 1826 deaths Italian philanthropists 18th-century Italian politicians 19th-century Italian politicians Politicians of Lombardy