Lazzaro Morelli (1619 – 1690) was an Italian sculptor of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period. Born in

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; la, Asculum; dialetto ascolano: Ascule) is a town and ''comune'' in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is around 46,000 but the urban area of the city has more than 93,000. Geo ...

, the son of the Florentine sculptor Fulgenzio Morelli, who also trained Lazzaro's cousin, the artist Giuseppe Giosafatti. Lazzaro initially came to Rome to work under ''Francesco Fiammingho'' (

François Duquesnoy François Duquesnoy or Frans Duquesnoy (12 January 1597 – 18 July 1643) was a Flanders, Flemish Baroque sculptor who was active in Rome for most of his career. His idealized representations are often contrasted with the more emotional character ...

), but left that studio to work under

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

. He participated in Bernini's Funereal Monument for

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

Chigi, found in

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 e ...

. He also was responsible for the ''Angel with the scourge'', based on a sketch by Bernini; this is one of the angels on the

Ponte Sant'Angelo Ponte Sant'Angelo, originally the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus), to span the Tiber from the city centre to his newly constructed mauso ...

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 ...

. He is said to have sculpted the horse and the lion for Bernini's ''

Fountain of the Four Rivers Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (''Fountain of the Four Rivers'') is a fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza as ...

'' in Piazza Navona. Lazzaro also sculpted the statue of ''Benignity'' for the tomb monument of

Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

in St. Peter's. The tomb was designed by

Mattia de' Rossi Mattia de Rossi (14 January 1637 – 2 August 1695) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and surrounding towns. Biography Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentors ...

(1684) and the other sculptors who worked on this project were

Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata ( 1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When h ...

(who sculpted the pope) and Giuseppe Mazzuoli (who sculpted the statue of ''Clemency''). He also completed some of the saints in the roof-line of the external colonnades of

Piazza San Pietro Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

. Statues of the Colonnade.
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Notes

Sources

* ''New Attributions in St. Peter's: The Spandrel Figures in the Nave'', Robert Enggass. ''The Art Bulletin'', Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar., 1978), pp. 96–108. . * Cristiano Marchegiani, "Morelli, Lazzaro", in ''Dizionario biografico degli Italiani'', Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani, vol. LXXVI, 2012, pp. 631–634

1608 births 1690 deaths People from Ascoli Piceno 17th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Italian Baroque sculptors Pupils of Gian Lorenzo Bernini {{Italy-sculptor-stub