Carlo Fontana

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Carlo Fontana on an engraving around 1774.

Carlo Fontana (born April 22, 1638 in Brusata fraction of the municipality of Novazzano in Ticino ; † February 5, 1714 in Rome ) was a Swiss - Italian architect , sculptor and engineer .

Life

Fontana came to Rome in 1653 and was first a student of Giovanni Maria Bolino and then of Pietro da Cortona and Carlo Rainaldi . Between 1655 and 1667 he worked as an employee in the workshop of Gian Lorenzo Bernini , where he soon became an irreplaceable partner due to his technical understanding and his creative skills.

Fontana subsequently developed into a successful architect who, however, impressed less with great innovations or outstanding individual achievements than with the skilful eclectic merging of style elements of the three “great” builders of the 17th century, Bernini, Borromini and Pietro da Cortona . He knew how to make his buildings known to the general public by publishing comprehensive accompanying materials and illustrations for his building projects. Tempio Vaticano (1694) is one of these publications , in which Fontana describes the construction of St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square (designed by Bernini) , in whose work Fontana was involved.

In addition, he also had didactic skills. Some of the most important architects in Italy and across Europe of the 18th century emerged from his workshop, including Alessandro Specchi , Nicola Michetti , Giovanni Battista Vaccarini , James Gibbs , Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt , Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and Filippo Juvarra . His son Francesco also learned from him and was a talented architect, but died early.

Utilissimo trattato dell'acque correnti (1696)

Works

Gravestone of Queen Christina of Sweden , in St. Peter's Basilica (1702).
  • Palazzo Montecitorio (which now houses the Italian Chamber of Deputies): started by Bernini on behalf of Pope Innocent X , with changes made by Fontana under the pontificate of Pope Innocent XII. accomplished.
  • Palazzo Massimo di Rignano in the Piazza d'Aracoeli.
  • San Marcello al Corso Church .
  • Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, in collaboration with Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1662–1679).
  • Church of San Biagio in Campitelli (1655).
  • Basilica dei Santi Apostoli (1702–1708).
  • Left fountain in St. Peter's Square (1675).
  • Fountain in the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere , one of the oldest fountains in Rome, redesigned by Fontana.
  • Dome of the Cybo Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo (1683–1687).
  • Sistine Chapel in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (1671).
  • Ginetti Chapel in the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle (1671).
  • Albanian Chapel in the Church of San Sebastiano (1705).
  • Biblioteca Casanatense (1708).
  • The great complex of San Michele a Ripa.
  • Baptistery in St. Peter's Basilica (1692–1698).
  • Tombs of Popes Clement XI. and Innocent XII. in St. Peter's Basilica.
  • Tomb of Queen Christine of Sweden in St. Peter's Basilica (1702).
  • Plans for an unrealized construction project for a large domed church, dedicated to the holy martyrs, inside the Colosseum .
  • Collegiate Church of Montefiascone

His other works include the Jesuit monastery of Loyola in Spain and the expansion of the Borromean Palace on Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore .

literature

  • Stefania Bianchi, Antonio Trapletti: Intorno ai Fontana: spunti anagrafici e ipotesi interpretative. Convegno internazionale, Roma, Palazzo Carpegna, 22–24 October 2014, atti a cura di Giuseppe Bonaccorso, Francesco Moschini Roma: Accademia nazionale di San Luca, pp. 45–51; Quaderni degli atti 2013–2014, Roma 2017, pp. 45–51.
  • Tommaso Manfredi: La costruzione dell'architetto: Maderno, Borromini, i Fontana e la formazione degli architetti ticinesi a Roma. Argos, Roma 2008.
  • Eliana Perotti: Carlo Fontana. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . August 31, 2004 , accessed January 29, 2020 .
  • Maria Grazia D'Amelio: “Thrust and Support” of Slopes According to Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) (PDF). In: Karl-Eugen Kurrer , Werner Lorenz , Volker Wetzk (eds.): Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Construction History . Neunplus, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-936033-31-1 , pp. 431-436

Web links

Commons : Carlo Fontana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Eliana Perotti: Carlo Fontana. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . August 31, 2004 , accessed January 29, 2020 .
  2. ^ Fontana, Carlo . In: Ulrich Thieme (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 12 : Fiori-Fyt . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1916, p. 170 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
personal data
SURNAME Fontana, Carlo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss-Italian architect, sculptor and engineer
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1638
PLACE OF BIRTH Novazzano in the canton of Ticino
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1714
Place of death Rome