Joseph Panzetta was an Italian sculptor and modeller who worked in England from c.1787–1830 and exhibited at Royal Academy from 1789–1810. He worked for Mrs

Eleanor Coade Eleanor Coade (3 June 1733 – 18 November 1821) was a British businesswoman known for manufacturing Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments made of ''Lithodipyra'' or Coade stone for ov ...

at her ''Coade Ornamental Stone Manufactory'' for over 26 years and modelled in ''Lithodipyra'' ( Coade stone). His finest and most significant works include: the Admiral Lord Nelson's

Pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

; and the 5.2 metre statue of Lord

Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill, (11 August 1772 – 10 December 1842) was a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars as a brigade, division and corps commander. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1828. ...

, in Shrewsbury that stands atop

Lord Hill's Column Lord Hill's Column is a monument located outside of Shropshire Council's headquarters, Shirehall, in the town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. It is a column of the Doric order and measures in height making it the tallest Doric column in England. I ...

, the tallest

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column in Great Britain.

Career

An article in ''

Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 The ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'' is a biographical dictionary of sculptors active in Britain in the period between the Restoration of Charles II and the Great Exhibition of 1851. It has appeared in three editions, published in ...

'' records: “Panzetta , Joseph, active from c.1787-1830. Exhibited at Royal Academy from 1789-1810. Worked for Mrs Coade over 26 years. ”

Works

Nelson's Pediment - Royal Naval College

Admiral Lord Nelson's

in the King William Courtyard of the

Old Royal Naval College The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

- was regarded by the Coade workers as the finest of all their work. It was sculpted by Joseph Panzetta in 1813, as a public memorial after his death at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

in 1805. It was based on a painting by

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

depicting Nelson's body being offered to

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

by a

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

. The cost of the work at Greenwich, which included many figures, was £2,584.The Landmark Trust, Where to find Coade stone
/ref> The pediment pictured bears the inscription "Designed by Benjamin West MDCCCXII" (1812). Shrewsbury Column

Lord Hill's Column, Shrewsbury

, outside the Shropshire Council headquarters, is one of the most notable landmarks of the town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It was modelled by Joseph Panzetta. In an article in the '' Dictionary of National Biography'' (2008) Alison Kelly implies that the statue of Lord Hill in Shrewsbury, at circa 16 feet tall was the largest single figure ever ordered in Coade stone. It cost £315, a very considerable sum in 1816."Eleanor Coade"
Alison Kelly, ''Oxford National Dictionary of Biography''

Other works

His works include figures of Nelson, Neptune and Britannia. The cost of Panzetta’s work, with others, at Buckingham Palace, which involved many figures, was £1,386.Friends of Lord Hill's column, What is Coade Stone?
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panzeta, Joseph Italian expatriates in England Ceramics manufacturers of England People of the Industrial Revolution Neoclassical artists 18th-century Italian sculptors