Giuseppe Bernardi (24 March 1694 in Pagnano – 22 February 1773 in Venice), also called Torretto, was a prominent mid-18th-century Italian sculptor. He is also known as a carver of intaglios and as the first teacher of Neoclassical sculptor

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...

. His father was Sebastiano Bernardi whose works include the statues of the park of the Villa Manin di Passariano (

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

) and of the Prato della Valle in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. His mother, Cecilia Torretto, was sister to the sculptor

Giuseppe Torretto Giuseppe Torretto or Torretti (1661 in Pagnano – 1743 in Venice) was an Italian sculptor of statues and intaglios. Mainly working in Venice, statues by him can be found in the churches of Santa Maria Formosa, I Gesuiti, Santa Maria di Nazar ...

and Bernardi took the nickname "il Torretto" as a child in honor of his uncle.

Career

Bernardi learned his craft from his maternal uncle whose workshop he later inherited. He worked on both small and large projects, and documents from his workshop indicate that he was quite prolific, taking on numerous projects at a time. Beginning in the 1730s, he was involved with the Santa Maria della Fava sculptural project which took him several decades to complete. He was commissioned to sculpt eight, over-lifesized marble statues of the four Evangelists and the four Western Fathers of the Church. Among Bernardi's students was

. Recognising Canova's talent, Bernardi consented to he and Canova moving to another studio, in Venice. The latter was inherited by his grandchild

Giovanni Ferrari Giovanni Ferrari (; 6 December 1907 – 2 December 1982) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder/inside forward on the left. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, one of Italy's best ever players, a ...

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardi 1694 births 1773 deaths 18th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 18th-century Italian male artists