Pietro Baratta (1659–1729) (17th century) 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, active in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. He was master of the sculptor Francesco Robba.

Biography

Born in

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, he worked in Venice and

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

, at the villas on the mainland and as a landscape architect. He was the nephew of the sculptor Francesco Baratta the elder (1590–1666), who had worked in Rome in the studio of

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

. Even his two brothers, Francesco and Giovanni, were sculptors. He had his own studio in which many trainees, including the sculptor Francesco Robba, apprenticed. He also had many orders from abroad: for the baroque gardens of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Pietro Baratta and his workshop executed a series of allegorical sculptures, many of which have been preserved, including a sculpture of "Andromeda", an "Allegory of Architecture" and busts including the "Allegory of Winter", the "Allegory of Spring" and others.

Works

He is responsible for the sculptures in the facade of the Villa Manin's Chapel at Passariano di Codroipo (

); these include the statues of the four Evangelists and of the Madonna with the Child. Pietro Baratta is also the probable author of five statues of St Roch, St Antony Abbot, the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, St Matthew and St John Baptist on the facade of the Church of Santa Maria at Villa Vicentina (VI), built between 1660 and 1680 on the site of an older building. Pietro Baratta is the author of the statue of St

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

, shown in a contemplative attitude, with an open

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in his hands, for the church of Santa Maria Assunta (I Gesuiti) in Venice. Interior of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - the Wisdom of Pietro Baratta.jpg, The Wisdom San Zanipolo Venice Interior of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - Bertuccio Valier.jpg, Bertuccio Valier San Zanipolo Venice

Bibliography

* Italian Baroque sculptors 17th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 18th-century Italian sculptors 1659 births 1729 deaths 18th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-artist-stub