Melchiorre Caffà
Encyclopedia
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Cafà began a promising career in Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
but this was cut short by his premature death following a work accident.
Biography
He was bornVittoriosa, Malta, and given the name Marcello at his baptism on 21 January 1636. After his move to Rome in 1658 or shortly after, he was most frequently referred to as Melchior (or Melchiorre) Maltese. His brother Lorenzo Gafà
Lorenzo Gafà
Lorenzo Gafà was a Maltese baroque architect.Born in Vittoriosa , Gafà began his working life as a stone carver and his brother was the renowned sculptor Melchiorre. By the early 1660s he had developed a strong interest in architectural design and in 1661 is known to have been involved in the...
was one of the leading architects in Malta.
Cafà was already an accomplished sculptor when he came to Rome and entered the workshop of Ercole Ferrata
Ercole Ferrata
Ercole 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...
, who was not strictly speaking his teacher although he probably helped him refining his technique. Despite soon attracting his own commissions, he stayed in close contact with Ferrata and collaborated with him.
In 1660 Cafà signed his first independent contract with Prince Camillo Pamphilj for the relief of the Martyrdom of Saint Eustace
Saint Eustace
Saint Eustace, also known as Eustachius or Eustathius, was a legendary Christian martyr who lived in the 2nd century AD. A martyr of that name is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, which, however, judges that the legend recounted about him is "completely fabulous." For that reason...
in Sant'Agnese in Agone
Sant'Agnese in Agone
Sant'Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.The rebuilding of the...
. In 1662 he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...
and was even elected its principal in 1667, but declined the honor. Reportedly, he was a close friend of the painter Giovanni Battista Gaulli
Giovanni Battista Gaulli
Giovanni Battista Gaulli , also known as Baciccio, Il Baciccio or Baciccia , was a painter of the Italian High Baroque verging onto that of the Rococo...
. Cafà died on the 4 September 1667 after some material collapsed on him in the foundry of Saint Peter's while he was working on the altar decoration for St John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral
St. Johns Co-Cathedral , located in Valletta, Malta, was built by the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the conventual church of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, known as the Knights of Malta...
in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
.
Works
Extremely busy throughout his short life, he only managed to finish a few major commissions himself:- Wooden statue of Saint Paul in St. Paul's ShipwreckCollegiate Parish Church of St Paul's ShipwreckThe Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, also known as simply the Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Valletta, Malta. It is one of Valletta's oldest churches.-History:...
in Valletta (c. 1659). - Wooden statue of the Virgin of the Rosary in the Dominican Church, Rabat, MaltaRabat, MaltaRabat is a village just outside Mdina, Malta. The name of the village is derived from the Arabic word for 'suburb': الرباط, as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. Half of the present-day village core also formed part of the Roman city of Melita, before the latter was resized during the...
(1660–61). - The marble statue of the dying Saint Rose of Lima (signed and dated 1665; LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Santo Domingo) was in 1668 the centrepiece for the future saint's BeatificationBeatificationBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
ceremony in Rome's Santa Maria sopra MinervaSanta Maria sopra MinervaThe Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
, and shipped to Peru straight after that event. While it has some formal analogies with Bernini's Ecstasy of St TheresaEcstasy of St TheresaThe Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is the central sculptural group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome...
and possibly influenced in its turn the latter's Death of the Blessed Ludovica AlbertoniLudovica AlbertoniLudovica Albertoni , sometimes known as Louisa Albertoni or Ludovica Albertoni Cetera, is considered a blessed person in Christianity. Her feast day is January 31....
, Cafà's statue depicts a peaceful death, free from the turmoil in the two works by Bernini. - Saint Thomas of Villanova distributing alms in the church of Sant'AgostinoSant'AgostinoSant'Agostino is a church in Rome, Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. It is one of the first Roman churches built during the Renaissance. The construction was funded by Guillaume d'Estouteville, Archbishop of Rouen and Papal Chancellor. The façade was built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta, using...
in Rome (1663–69). - The relief in white marble of the Ecstasy of Saint Catherine of Siena at Santa Caterina a MagnanapoliSanta Caterina a MagnanapoliSanta Caterina a Magnanapoli is a 16th century church in Rome. It is devoted to St. Catherine of Siena, and is located on the Quirinal Hill, in piazza Magnanapoli.-History:...
in Rome. The curved polychromePolychromePolychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
background is suggestive of cloud formations and of a halo, intensifying the idea that the saint is carried to heaven. There are no known dates for Cafà's intervention, but it is generally accepted that he finished it himself, i.e. 1667 or earlier. - A bust of Alexander VII exists in an extremely fine terracotta version in the Palazzo ChigiChigiChigi may refer to:* Chigi , a crossbreed between a Welsh Corgi and a chihuahua * House of Chigi, a Roman princely family* Chigi , an element in Japanese architecture...
in AricciaAricciaAriccia is a town and comune in the Province of Rome, central Italy. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs...
, a signed bronze (dated 1667) is in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Metropolitan Museum (photo here) and a further bronze in the DuomoDuomo di SienaThe Cathedral of Siena , dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church and now to Santa Maria Assunta , is a medieval church in Siena, central Italy....
in SienaSienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
.
A number of Cafà terracottas are in the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in St. Petersburg, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta
National Museum of Fine Arts (Malta)
The National Museum of Fine Arts is Malta’s major museum for the visual arts. It houses a collection of works by Maltese and foreign artists mainly representing the major European artistic styles....
, the Museo di Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo di Venezia is a palazzo in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval house intended as the residence of the cardinals appointed to the Church of San Marco...
in Rome and the Museo di Roma
Palazzo Braschi
Palazzo Braschi is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome, Italy and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the civic museum of Rome....
. There are various wax reliefs and sculptures by Cafà in Malta: the Valletta Museum has sketches of martyrs, and models for the statues in the colonnade in Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome .-History of St...
in Rome. In a private collection there is a wax Glory of St Catherine of Siena, a preparatory study for the marble relief in the church of Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli. And four reliefs were recently discovered in the Cathedral of Mdina
St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
St. Paul's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Mdina, in Malta. It is built on the site where governor Publius was reported to have met Saint Paul following his shipwreck off the Maltese coast.-History:...
representing the Nativity, the Adoration of the shepherds, the Annunciation and the Glory of St. Rose of Lima.
Most unfinished works were completed by Ercole Ferrata, e.g.:
- Martyrdom of Saint EustaceSaint EustaceSaint Eustace, also known as Eustachius or Eustathius, was a legendary Christian martyr who lived in the 2nd century AD. A martyr of that name is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, which, however, judges that the legend recounted about him is "completely fabulous." For that reason...
in Sant'Agnese in AgoneSant'Agnese in AgoneSant'Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.The rebuilding of the...
, Rome (1660–69). Cafà's terracotta is in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia in Rome. - Saint Thomas of Villanova distributing alms in the church of Sant'AgostinoSant'AgostinoSant'Agostino is a church in Rome, Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. It is one of the first Roman churches built during the Renaissance. The construction was funded by Guillaume d'Estouteville, Archbishop of Rouen and Papal Chancellor. The façade was built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta, using...
in Rome (1663–69). Cafà's terracotta is in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. - Marble statue of Pope Alexander IIIPope Alexander IIIPope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
in the DuomoDuomo di SienaThe Cathedral of Siena , dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church and now to Santa Maria Assunta , is a medieval church in Siena, central Italy....
in SienaSienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
(from 1665/66). - Marble statue of Saint Paul in St. Paul's Grotto, Rabat, MaltaRabat, MaltaRabat is a village just outside Mdina, Malta. The name of the village is derived from the Arabic word for 'suburb': الرباط, as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. Half of the present-day village core also formed part of the Roman city of Melita, before the latter was resized during the...
(1666–69).
Sources
- Rudolf Preimesberger, in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 16, 1973, pp. 230–235
- Gerhard Bissell, in: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. 15, 1997, pp. 493–495
- Keith Sciberras (Ed.), Melchiorre Cafà. Maltese Genius of the Roman Baroque, Valletta 2006 (individual entries in English or Italian)
- Sante Guido, Giuseppe Mantella, Melchiorre Cafà insigne modellatore. La Natività, l'Adorazione dei pastori e altre opere in cera, Soveria Mannelli (CZ) 2010. (Italian)