Innocenzo Spinazzi (1726–1798) was an Italian sculptor of the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period active in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Biography

Born in Rome the son of a silversmith, he became the leading sculptor in Florence, where he died. He was trained by

Giovanni Battista Maini Giovanni Battista Maini (6 February 1690 – 29 July 1752) was an Italian sculptor of the Late-Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. He was born in Cassano Magnago in Lombardy, and died in Rome. He may have had contacts with Foggini in Florence ...

. In Rome, he completed the statue of ''St Joseph Calasanctius'' (1755) for the nave of

St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

. He arrived in Florence in 1769, and the next year was named official court sculptor for the Lorraine dynasty in 1770. Grand Duke Leopold (later Emperor Leopold II) first employed him to restore antique sculpture. He completed a portrait bust of the Grand Duke (1771–74; Pitti). Spinazzi contributed monuments to three celebrated Florentines for the church of Santa Croce: jurist

Giovanni Lami Giovanni Lami (8 November 1697 – 6 February 1770) was an Italian jurist, church historian, and antiquarian. Biography He was born at Santa Croce sull'Arno (between Pisa and Florence) into a relatively affluent family; his paternal family ...

(died 1770); Angelo Tavanti (died 1782); and author

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

(1787). In 1792 he added an angel to the Baptism by

Andrea Sansovino Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1529) was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance. His pupils include Jacopo Sansovino (no relation). Biography He was the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte S ...

and

Vincenzo Danti Vincenzo Danti (1530 – 26 May 1576) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Perugia. His father was an architect and goldsmith, and Vincenzo developed an interest in drawing and goldsmithing. In 1545 he went to Rome to study sculpture and ...

above the Porta del Paradiso of the

Baptistery of Florence The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John ( it, Battistero di San Giovanni), is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del D ...

. His virtuoso marble figures of heavily veiled women, for example ''Faith'' (1781; Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi) and ''Religion'' (from the tomb of Varvara Jakovlevna, Princess Beloselskij, 1794; Turin, Museo Civico), follow precedents set by

Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of human body, where the contours of the face and bodies beneath the veil are discernible. Bo ...

and

Giuseppe Sanmartino Giuseppe Sanmartino or Giuseppe Sammartino (1720 – 1793) was an Italian sculptor during the Rococo period. Sanmartino was born in Naples. His first dated (1753) work is '' Veiled Christ'' or ''Christ lying under the Shroud'', commissioned initia ...

in the Capella Sansevero of Naples. Spinazzi was professor of sculpture at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

, Florence, from 1784. One of pupils was Francesco Carradori. He died at Florence in 1798.

Sources

Grove art encyclopedia entry on Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinazzi, Innocenzo 1726 births 1798 deaths Artists from Rome Italian Baroque sculptors 18th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Rococo sculptors 18th-century Italian male artists