Emilio Santarelli (1 August 1801- 29 October 1889) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

sculptor active mainly in Florence.

Biography

He was born in Florence to Giovanni Antonio Santarelli, who worked as an engraver of cameo jewelry. He enrolled in 1814 at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, where he took classes with Francesco Carradori and Stefano Ricci (sculptor). In 1824, he won a stipend to study in Rome with Bertel Thorvaldsen. In Rome, he also met with

Augustin Dumont Augustin-Alexandre Dumont, known as Auguste Dumont (4 August 1801, in Paris – 28 January 1884, in Paris) was a French sculptor. Biography He was one of a long line of famous sculptors, the great-grandson of Pierre Dumont, son of Jacques-Edme ...

. He was a prolific sketch artist and created many plaster models and studies. In 1831, Santarelli collaborated on the stucco decoration for the ballroom of the Meridiana building of

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

, built by

Pasquale Poccianti The Cisternoni of Livorno are a series of three large buildings in the neoclassical style at Livorno, in Tuscany, Italy. They were constructed between 1829 and 1848 as part of a complex of purification plants and storage tanks to the Leopold ...

. He was engaged by Poccianti to also complete stuccoes for the Chapel of the Madonna in the sanctuary of Maria Madre di Dio at San Romano, near San Miniato al Tedesco. In Florence, he completed the bas-relief for the tomb of the Countess of Albany in

Santa Croce, Florence The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

; the Countess' statue was completed by Luigi Giovannozzi. Also for pantheon- former church of Santa Croce, Santarelli in 1836 sculpted the monument to Giovan Vincenzo Alberti, former minister to the Grand-Dukes of Tuscany. This statue was commissioned by Giovan Vincenzo's son, Leon Battista Alberti, who also commissioned the monument to his famous ancestor of the same name, which is located across the nave and sculpted by

Lorenzo Bartolini Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato, 7 January 1777 Florence, 20 January 1850) was an Italian sculptor who infused his neoclassicism with a strain of sentimental piety and naturalistic detail, while he drew inspiration from the sculpture of the Florentine ...

. He also completed in 1838, a bas-relief for the funerary monument of the painter Francesco Sabatelli. In 1832, he designed the reliefs for the base of the monument to Pietro Leopoldo erected in Pisa. The artist and patron

François-Xavier Fabre François-Xavier Fabre (1 April 1766 – 16 March 1837) was a French painter of historical subjects. Born in Montpellier, Fabre was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, and made his name by winning the Prix de Rome in 1787. During the French R ...

commissioned from Santarelli an ''Immaculate Conception'' for the cathedral of Montpellier. Fabre would designate Santarelli as heir to his collections of drawings from artists from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. This collection is now in possession of the Uffizi Museum. In 1837 Santarelli was able to buy a comfortable house and garden in Via della Chiesa #44 in

Oltrarno The Oltrarno (''beyond the Arno'') is a quarter of Florence, Italy. It is located south of the River Arno. It contains part of the historic centre of Florence and many notable sites such as the church Santo Spirito di Firenze, Palazzo Pitti, Bel ...

. He was known for his cultivation of

Camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controver ...

. In 1840, he completed the statue of ''Michelangelo'' for the series of prominent Tuscans displayed in niches on the ground floor courtyard of the

Uffizi gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

, commissioned in 1836 by the committee established by Vincenzo Batelli. Among his early free-standing statues were ''Apocrate'' (1838), ''La concezione'' (1858), ''Amor puro'' and ''Amor terreno''. He subsequently also made a number of statues titled Malignant love, Giovinetto cacciatore, Love in ambush, Love with butterfly, Poor Child, "Baccante corcata who is joking with a satirino", The fallen lily, and Prayer of Innocence. In 1865 he completed the monument of Giuseppe Bezzuoli, located in the church of

San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...

. Santarelli hired the sculptors Pietro Freccia and his brother, Clearco, to work with him until 1847. In 1866 he donated to the Uffizi his collection of drawings by ancient and contemporary authors.Encyclopedia Treccani
entry on Santarelli.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santarelli 19th-century Italian sculptors 1801 births 1885 deaths