Francesco Robba
Francesco Robba (* 1. May 1698 in Venice ; † 24. January 1757 in Zagreb ) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque .
Life
Francesco Robba was trained in the workshop of the Venetian sculptor Pietro Baratta from 1711 to 1716. In 1720 he moved to Ljubljana to work with the Slovenian master Luka Mislej and married his daughter Theresa in 1722.
In this early period, his first marble statues and reliefs still showed the influence of Pietro Baratta. When Mislej died in 1727, Robba took over his workshop and customer base. Robba soon acquired a reputation of its own and received prestigious commissions from ecclesiastical, aristocratic and civil patrons. As early as 1729, his work was praised in a letter to Prince Imre Esterházy de Galántha , Archbishop of Esztergom, by the rector of the Jesuit College in Zagreb , Francesco Saverio Barci.
From 1727 his works testify to a growing self-confidence. His technical virtuosity is evident in the emotional expression and the refined forms of his sculptures.
He was recognized by Ljubljana as an honorary citizen. In 1743 he was elected to the city's external council. In 1745 he was appointed "State Engineer" of Carniola . During all this time he did not lose contact with Venice, as he visited his hometown several times. This enabled him to keep in touch with the baroque sculpting scene in central Italy and Rome .
In 1755 he left Ljubljana for Zagreb in Croatia, where he died on January 24, 1757.
Works (selection)
The most famous work by Francesco Robba is the fountain of the three rivers Carniola from 1751. These rivers are Ljubljanica , Save and Krka . It was inspired by Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona in Rome.
Other works were:
the Narcissus Fountain in Ljubljana, altar and statues (1736) in the Jacob's Church in Ljubljana, an altar in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Ljubljana), an altar in the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation (Ljubljana), a statue of St. John Nepomuk in Klagenfurt and an altar in the parish church in Vransko .
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Roba, also Robba, Franz . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 26th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1874, pp. 208–207 ( digitized version ).
- Francesco Robba and the Venetian Baroque Sculpture of the Eighteenth Century . Rokus Publishing House, Ljubljana. ISBN 961-209-160-9
Web links
- Entry about Francesco Robba on Artisti Italiani in Austria , a project of the University of Innsbruck
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Robba, Francesco |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian baroque sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1698 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Venice |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 24, 1757 |
| Place of death | Zagreb |