Giovanni Battista Caccini
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Battista Caccini (24 October 1556 — 13 March 1613) was an Italian
sculptor from Florence
, who worked in a classicising
style in the later phase of Mannerism
.
He was born at Montopoli in Val d'Arno
between Florence and Pisa; his training was with the sculptor-architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio
, known for his accurate drawings of Roman antiquities
, and Caccini's numerous interpretive restorations of Roman sculptural fragments gave him the reputation of being a knowledgeable antiquarian
, while the inescapable influence of Giambologna
and his circle can be seen in Caccini's bronze statuettes. Caccini was in close cooperation with Pietro Tacca
and the rest of Giambologna's pupils in the prolonged cooperation over the bronze doors for the Pisa cathedral.
Fragmentary antiquities were not to the sixteenth-century collectors' taste. Caccini produced a head for an antique torso, and a further, crouching figure to produce the Bacchus and Ampelos in the Uffizi, which was once attributed to Michelangelo. He restored a fragmentary Apollo Sauroctonos
as an Apollo with the Lyre (Uffizi). He could also improvise on antique themes: the biographer of artists Rafaello Borghini reported in 1730 that "In truth he was highly skilled in diligently putting together pieces, and counterfeiting, the Antique."
His garden sculptures produced the bold silhouettes and copious attributes that the genre requires. As an architect, his one notable work is the portico of the Santissima Annunziata
, Florence (1601).
Caccini died at Rome in 1613.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
sculptor from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, who worked in a classicising
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
style in the later phase of Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
.
He was born at Montopoli in Val d'Arno
Montopoli in Val d'Arno
Montopoli in Val d'Arno is a comune in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 40 km southwest of Florence and about 30 km east of Pisa....
between Florence and Pisa; his training was with the sculptor-architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio
Giovanni Antonio Dosio
Giovanni Antonio Dosio was an Italian architect and sculptor.He was born in San Gimignano. A student of Ammanati, with whom he realized the Villa dell'Ambrogiana, Dosio worked primarily in Rome and Florence , with some commissions that took him to Naples.During his early years in Rome, where he...
, known for his accurate drawings of Roman antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
, and Caccini's numerous interpretive restorations of Roman sculptural fragments gave him the reputation of being a knowledgeable antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, while the inescapable influence of Giambologna
Giambologna
Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne, incorrectly known as Giovanni da Bologna and Giovanni Bologna , was a sculptor, known for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style.- Biography :...
and his circle can be seen in Caccini's bronze statuettes. Caccini was in close cooperation with Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity.-Biography:...
and the rest of Giambologna's pupils in the prolonged cooperation over the bronze doors for the Pisa cathedral.
Fragmentary antiquities were not to the sixteenth-century collectors' taste. Caccini produced a head for an antique torso, and a further, crouching figure to produce the Bacchus and Ampelos in the Uffizi, which was once attributed to Michelangelo. He restored a fragmentary Apollo Sauroctonos
Apollo Sauroctonos
The Apollo Sauroktonos is a 1.49m high ancient sculpture in the Louvre, as Inventaire MR 78 . It is a 1st - 2nd century AD Roman marble copy of an original by Praxiteles. It shows a nude adolescent male about to catch a lizard climbing up a tree...
as an Apollo with the Lyre (Uffizi). He could also improvise on antique themes: the biographer of artists Rafaello Borghini reported in 1730 that "In truth he was highly skilled in diligently putting together pieces, and counterfeiting, the Antique."
His garden sculptures produced the bold silhouettes and copious attributes that the genre requires. As an architect, his one notable work is the portico of the Santissima Annunziata
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, Italy, the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata....
, Florence (1601).
Caccini died at Rome in 1613.
Selected works
- Figure of S. Giovanni Gualberto, Badia di Passignano, Val di Pesa, 1580
- Bust of Christ, c. 1595 (RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
) - Temperance, 1583 (Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
) - Charles V crowned by Clement VII, Salone del Cinquecento, Palazzo VecchioPalazzo VecchioThe Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany...
, Florence. - CiboriumCiborium (architecture)In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...
in Santo Spirito, Florence. - Among his numerous allegorical statues in the Boboli GardensBoboli GardensThe Boboli Gardens are a park in Florence, Italy, that is home to a collection of sculptures dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries, with some Roman antiquities.-History and layout:...
, Florence:- Seasons, four figures in the Boboli GardensBoboli GardensThe Boboli Gardens are a park in Florence, Italy, that is home to a collection of sculptures dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries, with some Roman antiquities.-History and layout:...
, Florence - Youthful Jupiter (attributed), Boboli Gardens.
- Seasons, four figures in the Boboli Gardens
- Seasons, two of the figures for the Ponte Santa TrinitaPonte Santa TrinitaThe Ponte Santa Trìnita is a Renaissance bridge in Florence, Italy, spanning the Arno. The Ponte Santa Trìnita is the oldest elliptic arch bridge in the world, the three flattened ellipses giving the structure its celebrated elegant appearance...
, Florence