The Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni Feeding the Pilgrims
Model
ca. 1692-1700 (made)
ca. 1692-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This sketch model in wax was made, together with A.2-1963, by Massimilano Soldani in Florence in around 1700, as a design for a bronze relief in the Chapel of the Palazzo Sansedoni at Siena. The reliefs represent scenes from the life of the Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni - in this one he is feeding the pilgrims. The chapel for which they were made was the room in which the illustrious ancestor of the Sansedoni had once lived.
Soldani received his training as a sculptor and medallist in Rome and Paris before being recalled to Florence, where he worked for about 40 years as the Master of the Mint for the Medici Grand-Dukes of Tuscany. The desire to collect the creative processes of the artist in tangible form that had developed, notably in Florence, in the sixteenth century, was still alive. It appears that Soldani gave at least some of his models away, and these two reliefs were given by him to the Sansedoni family as gifts, probably in the frames in which they are still housed.
Soldani received his training as a sculptor and medallist in Rome and Paris before being recalled to Florence, where he worked for about 40 years as the Master of the Mint for the Medici Grand-Dukes of Tuscany. The desire to collect the creative processes of the artist in tangible form that had developed, notably in Florence, in the sixteenth century, was still alive. It appears that Soldani gave at least some of his models away, and these two reliefs were given by him to the Sansedoni family as gifts, probably in the frames in which they are still housed.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni Feeding the Pilgrims (popular title) |
Materials and techniques | Wax relief |
Brief description | Model, wax relief, The Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni Feeding the Pilgrims, by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, Italy (Florence), ca. 1692-1700 |
Physical description | 'The Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni Feeding the Pilgrims', oval relief sketch model in wax (for a bronze relief in the Chapel of the Palazzo Sansedoni, Siena). The pilgrims are seen seated round an oval table spread with a cloth, and with rolls and two plates of game upon it. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Credit line | Purchased with the aid of a contribution from the Hildburgh Fund |
Object history | This dark red wax relief and its pair (A.2-1963) are models for bronze reliefs, which were cast by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1658-1740) for the chapel of the Palazzo Sansedoni at Siena. They show scenes from the life of the Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni; in this one he is feeding the pilgrims. Both differ in the details from the bronzes realised after the design, which were placed in the room in which the saint had once lived. Soldani gave both these reliefs to the Sansedoni family at Siena (see Zikos in Vienna 2005, loc.cit.), and probably had them placed within their current frames for the purpose of their display within the palace. Purchased together with A.2-1963 in 1963. |
Historical context | This and A.2-1963 are sketch models for a bronze relief in the chapel of the Palazzo Sansedoni in Siena. The chapel was in fact the very room in which the saint had once lived, and it was granted all the privileges of a full-scale church by Pope Innocent XII. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This sketch model in wax was made, together with A.2-1963, by Massimilano Soldani in Florence in around 1700, as a design for a bronze relief in the Chapel of the Palazzo Sansedoni at Siena. The reliefs represent scenes from the life of the Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni - in this one he is feeding the pilgrims. The chapel for which they were made was the room in which the illustrious ancestor of the Sansedoni had once lived. Soldani received his training as a sculptor and medallist in Rome and Paris before being recalled to Florence, where he worked for about 40 years as the Master of the Mint for the Medici Grand-Dukes of Tuscany. The desire to collect the creative processes of the artist in tangible form that had developed, notably in Florence, in the sixteenth century, was still alive. It appears that Soldani gave at least some of his models away, and these two reliefs were given by him to the Sansedoni family as gifts, probably in the frames in which they are still housed. |
Associated object | A.2-1963 (Part) |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.1-1963 |
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Record created | February 25, 2004 |
Record URL |
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