Peter Leonhard (Pietro Leonardo) Gianelli (27 December 1767 23 December 1807) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

medallist and sculptor. His most notable works include two medels commemorating the Danish Abolition of the Slave Trade (1792) and the Battle of Copenhagen (1801), both of which were based on drawings by

Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen ...

Early life and education

Gianelli was born on 27 December 1767 in Copenhagen, the son of plasterer Domenico Maria Gianelli (c. 1723–1801) and Johanna Eisen (1743–1812). His father had come to Denmark in 1758 and was married to Maria Barbra (c. 1735–1759) in his first marriage. The family resided at Østergade 133 in Copenhagen. Gianelli attended the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

from 1778 to 1791. He was initially trained as a sculptor, winning the small and large silver medals in 1784 and 1787 and finally the small gold medal in 1789. He then decided to specialize as a medallist.

saw to it that he was awarded the Academy's travel stipend in 1791 in spite of not having won its large gold medal. He spent the next five years abroad.

Career

On his return to Copenhagen in 1796, he was associated the Academy. In 1798, he was made a full member of the Academy after submitting a new stamp for the Academy's large silver medal as his membership piece. In 1800, he was engaged as medallist at the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

. Gianelli's early works as a sculptor include a statue of Apollo (1787) and a relief of ''

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hāb� ...

'' (1789, competition work) as well as a number of portrait reliefs and busts. As a medallist, he only created the stamps for nine medals. The most successful of them were based on drawings by Abildgaard. One of them was the Academy's new large silver medal. Two of the others commemorated the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade (1792), and the Battle of Copenhagen (1801). The fourth was the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters' Prize Medal. The portrait on a medal to

Martin Vahl Martin Henrichsen Vahl (10 October 1749 – 24 December 1804) was a Danish-Norwegian botanist, herbalist and zoologist. Biography Martin Vahl was born in Bergen, Norway and attended Bergen Cathedral School. He studied botany at the University ...

(died 1804) was also based on a drawing by Abildgaard. His other works include the stamps for a half (1798) and ''spdr.'' (1799 and 1800) as well as and .

Personal life

On 8 March 1802 Gianelli married Anna Margrethe Louise Boyesen (1778–1851) in

Holmen Church The Holmen Church ( da, Holmens Kirke) is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having ...

; she was the daughter of bailiff () and Søren B. (1730–1798) and Dorothea Sophie Bruun (1746–1831). Gianelli was friends with

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

in his youth. They were both members of Borups Selskab, a private theatre society. His sister Christiane Juliane Frederikke Gianelli (1782–1816) married

Christian Horneman Christian Horneman (15 August 1765 – 7 March 1844) was a Danish miniature and pastels painter, mainly known for portraits. He was the father of the composer Emil Horneman and grandfather of C. F. E. Horneman, also a composer. Biography Horne ...

, a painter of miniatures, in 1807. He died on 23 December 1807 and is buried in the Catholic section of

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

. His widow was subsequently married to his brother Giovanni Domenico Gianelli, a plasterer.

List of works

;Medals * Danish Abolition of the Slave Trade Medal (1792) * Medal commemorating the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) ;Statues * ''Apollo'' (1787) ;Reliefs * ''Kain and Abel'' (17789) * H. W. v.Huth (1783, Frederiksborg Museum) *

Ove Høegh-Guldberg Ove Høegh-Guldberg (born ''Guldberg''; 1 September 1731 – 7 February 1808) was a Danish statesman, historian, and ''de facto'' prime minister of Denmark during the reign of the mentally unstable King Christian VII. Biography Guldberg ...

(1784, Frederiksborg Museum) ;Busts * Balth. Münter (1789,

Copenhagen University Library The Copenhagen University Library (Danish language, Danish: Københavns Universitetsbibliotek) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the main research library of the University of Copenhagen. Founded in 1482, it is the oldest library in Denmark. The old mai ...

) * J. C. J. v.Berger (1791, Frederiksborg Museum)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gianelli, Peter 18th-century Danish medallists 19th-century Danish medallists 18th-century Danish sculptors 18th-century male artists Artists from Copenhagen Danish people of Italian descent 1767 births 1807 deaths