Cosimo Fancelli (1618–1688), a great, but second-tier master of the Roman Baroque
Cosimo Fancelli (1618–1688), a great, but second-tier master of the Roman Baroque
Cosimo Fancelli, funerary monument of Giovanni Spada, Church of San Girolamo della Carità
Cosimo Fancelli, Angel with the Sudarium, 1670, Ponte Sant’Angelo
Cosimo Fancelli, main altar – The Holy Trinity, Chigi Chapel, Church of Santa Maria della Pace
Cosimo Fancelli, statue of the Nile, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Piazza Navona
Cosimo Fancelli, two of the four holy virgins in the crypt of the Church of Santi Luca e Martina
Cosimo Fancelli, marble slab – SS. Peter, Paul and Luke, in the background Martial and the symbol of Luke the Evangelist – ox, Basilica of Santa Maria in Via Lata
Cosimo Fancelli, funerary portrait of Lorenzo Altieri, Altieri Chapel, Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Cosimo Fancelli, tombstone of Cardinal Bonelli, Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Cosimo Fancelli, tombstone of Cardinal Vidman, Basilica of San Marco
Cosimo Fancelli, altar in the chapel of Cardinal Giovanni Gavotti, Church of San Nicola da Tolentino
Cosimo Fancelli, allegory of Faith from the funerary monument of Pope Clement IX, Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Cosimo Fancelli, allegory of Faith from the funerary monument of Pope Clement IX, Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Cosimo Fancelli, portrait of cardinal Altieri, the brother of Pope Clement X, Basilica of Sant Maria sopra Minerva
Cosimo Fancelli, allegory of Justice, tombstone of Cardinal Carlo Bonelli, Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Cosimo Fancelli, tombstone of cardinal Vidman, fragment, Basilica of San Marco
Cosimo Fancelli, Gavotti Chapel, bust of Cardinal Giovanni Gavotti, Church of San Nicola da Tolentino
Cosimo Fancelli, clay cast from the altar in the Gavotti Chapel, Church of San Nicola da Tolentino, Museo Nazionale-Palazzo Venezia
Cosimo Fancelli, angels at the top of the abutment of the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle
Artists such as he remained outside the group of the most highly valued masters of the XVII century, those who were welcomed at salons and granted papal trust. They were sort of a “second-string” of decorators, painstakingly earning money to live. But Cosimo worked together with the very best ones of that time. According to his contemporaries he was slight of built, had black hair and a light complexion.
Artists such as he remained outside the group of the most highly valued masters of the XVII century, those who were welcomed at salons and granted papal trust. They were sort of a “second-string” of decorators, painstakingly earning money to live. But Cosimo worked together with the very best ones of that time. According to his contemporaries he was slight of built, had black hair and a light complexion.
He was born in Rome in a family with longstanding sculpting traditions – his father was Carlo Fancelli, his brother Giacomo Antonio Fancelli (taught by the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini). It is from them that he learned his craft, yet for nearly his entire life he was part of a group of those XVII-century Roman artists who did not leave a decisive mark on the city, but without whom it would have been difficult to imagine the richness, lavishness and grandeur of then buildings. In the case of decorations of St. Peter’s Basilica (San Pietro in Vaticano) and Bridge of the Holy Angel (Ponte Sant’Angelo) he aided Bernini, in the case of Palazzo di Propaganda Fide – his supervisor was Francesco Borromini. His most faithful friend and the one who employed him the longest, was the godfather of his daughter Pietro da Cortona whom he helped in decorating the Vatican Basilica and such churches as Santa Maria in Vallicella and San Carlo al Corso. After the death of Cortona, another of Fancelli’s collaborators was Carlo Rainaldi. Together they worked for two significant families – Borghese and Altieri. The sculptor created for them his artistic creations in gypsum, marble and granite, sometimes completing garlands, sometimes more ambitious works. When he lacked other commissions he did restorations of ancient statues, including those in Palazzo Borghese.
Bernini spoke highly of him, claiming that he is one of the most skilled sculptors in Rome, as was evidenced by entrusting him with completing one of the angels on the Bridge of the Holy Angel, as well as creating, together with his brother, the statue of the Nile for the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi). They are probably the best and the most known works of the artist in the city. For, is it possible to imagine the aforementioned fountain without this mysterious, hiding its head under a piece of cloth figure – brilliantly designed by Bernini, but splendidly completed by Cosimo.
Independent works by Fancelli start appearing around 1650 and are created in- between commissions for outstanding fellow sculptors. Walking around Rome we can find not only average works of the artist but also outstanding works, among which we can count those found in the churches of Santa Maria della Pace or San Girolamo della Carità.
Just as he wished, the artist was buried in a church for which he worked – San Nicola da Tolentino, in a tomb where previously his wife had been laid to eternal rest.
Marble relief depicting Christ accompanied by Mary Salome – mother standing next to the Saints John the Evangelist and Jacob; tombstones of the church founders (1645)
Church of Santi Luca e Martina
Granite statues of four saint virgins, including St. Euphemia in the crypt of the church and ornamental decorations of the crypt
Church of Santa Maria della Pace
Decorations in the Chigi Chapel – The Holy Trinity, allegories of the Virtues (1657)
Church of San Girolamo della Carità
Tombstone statue of Giovanni Spada
Church of Santa Maria in via Lata
Marble relief depicting the SS Peter, Paul and Luke as well as a terracotta relief with the scene Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1661)
Francesco Cavallini (1640–1703) – a sculptor of garlands and swaying saints
Szanowny użytkowniku!
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