Bartolomeo Cavaceppi
Encyclopedia
Bartolomeo Cavaceppi was an Italian sculptor who worked in Rome, where he trained in the studio of the acclimatized Frenchman, Pierre-Étienne Monnot
, and then in the workshop of Carlo Antonio Napolioni, a restorer of sculptures for Cardinal Alessandro Albani, who was to become a major patron of Cavaceppi, and a purveyer of antiquities and copies on his own account. The two sculptors shared a studio. Much of his work was in restoring antique Roman sculptures, making casts, copies, and fakes of antiques, fields in which he was pre-eminent and which brought him into contact with all the virtuosi: he was a close friend of and informant for Johann Joachim Winckelmann
. Winckelmann's influence and Cardinal Albani's own evolving taste may have contributed to Cavaceppi's increased self-consciousness of the appropriateness of restorations — a field in which earlier sculptors had improvised broadly — evinced in his introductory essay to his Raccolta d'antiche statue, busti, teste cognite ed altre sculture antiche restaurate da Cav. Bartolomeo Cavaceppi scultore romano (3 vols., Rome 1768-72). The baroque taste in ornate restorations of antiquities had favoured finely pumiced polished surfaces, coloured marbles and mixed media, and highly speculative restorations of sometimes incongruous fragments. Only in the nineteenth century, would collectors begin for the first time to appreciate fragments of sculpture: a headless torso was not easily sold in eighteenth-century Rome.
In the competition for a permanent marble of Saint Norbert for the last available niche in St. Peter's Basilica
, Cavaceppi, the candidate favoured by Cardinal Albani, lost out in the end to the more conservative declamatory Baroque manner of Pietro Bracci
, who received the commission.
Cavaceppi, "now certainly one of the most underrated artist-personalities in that era" according to Seymour Howard, was the Pope's chief restorer, and a measure of his other clientele may be drawn from the plates that illustrated the works of art that had been restored in his extensive studio in the Raccolta, which appeared in three folio volumes, 1768-72. Haskell and Penny note that of sixty plates in the first volume, thirty-four reproduced works already belonging to Englishmen, while a further seventeen showed works in German collections. The remainder were divided among Cardinals Alessandro Albani and Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti
(1684-1764) and Conte Giuseppe Fede
, with one more in the Capitoline Museum and another belonging to Jacques-Laure le Tonnelier de Breteuil, the Bailli de Breteuil. The following year's volume showed sixty plates of sculptures that were all on the market. Cavaceppi made a considerable fortune from his endeavors.
Cavaceppi's studio, staffed with a host of assistants, was a stop for all the young connoisseurs making the Grand Tour
. Goethe described his visit in Italienische Reise XXXII. Cavaceppi was entrusted with making casts of antiquities. Joseph Nollekens
purchased from Cavaceppi the casts of the Furietti Centaurs
that may still be seen at Shugborough Hall
, Staffordshire; Cavaceppi also produced full-size copies in marble.
For his contributions in the formation of the Museo Clementino, based in large part on Albani's collection, Cavaceppi was made a Knight of the Golden Spur in 1770 and was henceforth Cavaliere Cavaceppi. His sculptures were presented for sale in the Museo Cavaceppi between the Piazza di Spagna and the Piazza del Popolo
, the part of Rome most frequented by foreigners.
In the 1770s he carved a reduced version of Trajan's Column
, which was purchased by the English virtuoso Henry Blundell
to complement his antiqities at Ince Blundell
; Blundell also acquired Cavaceppi's working model, a wooden column painted in grisaille
.
At the time of his death, the collection of fragments and casts in the Museo was vast. Prince Giovanni Torlonia purchased over a thousand items from Cavaceppi's legacy. In some senses, Vincenzo Pacetti
, who had collaborated with Cavaceppi on restorations and who supervised restorations and display of the Borghese collection at Villa Borghese
was Cavaceppi's successor.
An exhibition "Bartolomeo Cavaceppi", curated by C.A. Picon in London, 1983, helped to bring him out of obscurity.
Pierre-Étienne Monnot
Pierre-Étienne Monnot was a French sculptor working mostly in Rome in a late-Baroque idiom.Monnot was born at Orchamps-Vennes, Doubs, Franche-Comté, and brought up at Besançon. Trained at first by his father, he was apprenticed to a sculptor at Dijon, then developed his style during a decade in...
, and then in the workshop of Carlo Antonio Napolioni, a restorer of sculptures for Cardinal Alessandro Albani, who was to become a major patron of Cavaceppi, and a purveyer of antiquities and copies on his own account. The two sculptors shared a studio. Much of his work was in restoring antique Roman sculptures, making casts, copies, and fakes of antiques, fields in which he was pre-eminent and which brought him into contact with all the virtuosi: he was a close friend of and informant for Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...
. Winckelmann's influence and Cardinal Albani's own evolving taste may have contributed to Cavaceppi's increased self-consciousness of the appropriateness of restorations — a field in which earlier sculptors had improvised broadly — evinced in his introductory essay to his Raccolta d'antiche statue, busti, teste cognite ed altre sculture antiche restaurate da Cav. Bartolomeo Cavaceppi scultore romano (3 vols., Rome 1768-72). The baroque taste in ornate restorations of antiquities had favoured finely pumiced polished surfaces, coloured marbles and mixed media, and highly speculative restorations of sometimes incongruous fragments. Only in the nineteenth century, would collectors begin for the first time to appreciate fragments of sculpture: a headless torso was not easily sold in eighteenth-century Rome.
In the competition for a permanent marble of Saint Norbert for the last available niche in St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
, Cavaceppi, the candidate favoured by Cardinal Albani, lost out in the end to the more conservative declamatory Baroque manner of Pietro Bracci
Pietro Bracci
Pietro Bracci 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...
, who received the commission.
Cavaceppi, "now certainly one of the most underrated artist-personalities in that era" according to Seymour Howard, was the Pope's chief restorer, and a measure of his other clientele may be drawn from the plates that illustrated the works of art that had been restored in his extensive studio in the Raccolta, which appeared in three folio volumes, 1768-72. Haskell and Penny note that of sixty plates in the first volume, thirty-four reproduced works already belonging to Englishmen, while a further seventeen showed works in German collections. The remainder were divided among Cardinals Alessandro Albani and Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti
Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti
Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti was a Roman Catholic cardinal, an antiquarian and philologist, and a collector of antiquities whose ambitious excavations at the site of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli rewarded him with the Furietti Centaurs and other Roman sculpture.Furietti was born at Bergamo, the son of...
(1684-1764) and Conte Giuseppe Fede
Giuseppe Fede
Conte Giuseppe Fede was an Italian nobleman, collector and archaeologist of the 18th century. As early as 1724 he started to buy up parcels of land on the site of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli and excavate on them...
, with one more in the Capitoline Museum and another belonging to Jacques-Laure le Tonnelier de Breteuil, the Bailli de Breteuil. The following year's volume showed sixty plates of sculptures that were all on the market. Cavaceppi made a considerable fortune from his endeavors.
Cavaceppi's studio, staffed with a host of assistants, was a stop for all the young connoisseurs making the Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
. Goethe described his visit in Italienische Reise XXXII. Cavaceppi was entrusted with making casts of antiquities. Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. He was also a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768.-Life:...
purchased from Cavaceppi the casts of the Furietti Centaurs
Furietti Centaurs
The Furietti Centaurs are a pair of Hellenistic or Roman grey-black marble sculptures of centaurs based on Hellenistic models. One is a mature, bearded centaur, with a pained expression, and the other is a young smiling centaur with his arm raised...
that may still be seen at Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough is a country estate in Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England, 4 miles from Stafford on the edge of Cannock Chase. It comprises a country house, kitchen garden, and model farm...
, Staffordshire; Cavaceppi also produced full-size copies in marble.
For his contributions in the formation of the Museo Clementino, based in large part on Albani's collection, Cavaceppi was made a Knight of the Golden Spur in 1770 and was henceforth Cavaliere Cavaceppi. His sculptures were presented for sale in the Museo Cavaceppi between the Piazza di Spagna and the Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.The piazza lies inside the northern...
, the part of Rome most frequented by foreigners.
In the 1770s he carved a reduced version of Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
, which was purchased by the English virtuoso Henry Blundell
Henry Blundell (art collector)
Henry Blundell was an English art collector.-Life:Blundell was born at Ince Blundell, Lancashire. A Catholic, like his friend and fellow collector Charles Townley he was thus barred from the British university system and was educated at the college of the English Jesuits at St Omer and...
to complement his antiqities at Ince Blundell
Ince Blundell
Ince Blundell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton on Merseyside, England but historically in Lancashire. It is situated to the north of Liverpool on the A565 road and to the east of the village of Hightown...
; Blundell also acquired Cavaceppi's working model, a wooden column painted in grisaille
Grisaille
Grisaille is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of grey. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many grisailles in fact include a slightly wider colour range, like the Andrea del Sarto fresco...
.
At the time of his death, the collection of fragments and casts in the Museo was vast. Prince Giovanni Torlonia purchased over a thousand items from Cavaceppi's legacy. In some senses, Vincenzo Pacetti
Vincenzo Pacetti
Vincenzo Pacetti was an Italian sculptor and restorer from Castel Bolognese, particularly active in collecting and freely restoring and completing classical sculptures such as the Barberini Faun — his most famous work— the Hope Dionysus and the Athena of Velletri and...
, who had collaborated with Cavaceppi on restorations and who supervised restorations and display of the Borghese collection at Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
was Cavaceppi's successor.
An exhibition "Bartolomeo Cavaceppi", curated by C.A. Picon in London, 1983, helped to bring him out of obscurity.
Some other sculptors in Rome renowned for their restorations
- Carlo AlbaciniCarlo AlbaciniCarlo Albacini was an Italian sculptor and restorer of Ancient Roman sculpture, a pupil of Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, an eminent sculptor and restorer of Rome...
- Orfeo BoselliOrfeo BoselliOrfeo Boselli was an Italian sculptor working in Rome. As with most Roman sculptors of the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, a great part of his commissioned work was in restoring and completing fragmentary ancient Roman sculptures...
- Ippolito BuzziIppolito BuzziIppolito Buzzi was an Italian sculptor from Viggiù, near Varese, in northernmost Lombardy, a member of a long-established dynasty of painters, sculptors and architects from the town, who passed his mature career in Rome...
- Ercole FerrataErcole FerrataErcole Ferrata 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...
- Francesco Nocchieri
- Francesco FontanaFrancesco FontanaFrancesco Fontana was an Italian lawyer and astronomer.He created woodcuts showing the Moon and the planets as he saw them through a self-constructed telescope...
- Giovanni Battista PiranesiGiovanni Battista PiranesiGiovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...
- Vincenzo PacettiVincenzo PacettiVincenzo Pacetti was an Italian sculptor and restorer from Castel Bolognese, particularly active in collecting and freely restoring and completing classical sculptures such as the Barberini Faun — his most famous work— the Hope Dionysus and the Athena of Velletri and...