Giovanni Dupré
Giovanni Dupré (born March 1, 1817 in Siena , † January 10, 1882 in Florence ) was an Italian sculptor and medalist .
Life
Born in Siena as the son of the wood cutter Francesco Dupré and his wife Vittoria Lombardi, Dupré devoted himself to sculpture in Florence and achieved his first success in 1842 with a sculpture of Abel (cast bronze in the Palazzo Pitti ). In 1845 he modeled the counterpart Cain, which also came as a counterpart in the Palazzo Pitti . In the following years the marble figures Giotto and Sant'Antonio were created for the Uffizi and a Pius II for San Domenico in Siena. Conceived on a trip to Naples , Dupré saw the monument to Pius VI in Rome in 1856 . from Canova , who gave his quest a different direction. This led him to an allegorical conception which was not exactly conducive to the harmony of his works. The first of these was a Sappho sitting on a rock with a broken lyre in melancholy reflection.
In 1859 Dupré completed the great grave monument of Countess Ferrari Corbelli on San Lorenzo in Florence. Architecture and overall structure are inharmonious; In the allegorical figures, individual careful studies of nature are to be praised, which, however, stand out from the conventional treatment of other parts. Another major work from this period is the relief in the lunette of the main portal of Santa Croce in Florence depicting the triumph of the cross. Historical figures from all centuries of Christianity are grouped here around the central genius of humanity.
One of the noblest and most sensitive works of Dupré is his Pietà , which he completed from 1860 to 1865 on behalf of the Marchese Ruspoli for the churchyard of the Misericordia in Siena, and in which his art of fine naturalistic development reaches its climax. In 1869 Dupré was accepted as a foreign member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts .
Dupré's most extensive work is the monument to Camillo Benso von Cavour in Turin, unveiled in 1872 . Ten allegorical colossal figures surround the pedestal on which Cavour, elevating Italia, stands. A serious study of nature and the pursuit of monumental dignity can be seen in the mostly naked allegorical figures; only here, too, a few harshness of the composition and the inharmonious amalgamation of realism and allegory bothers. The majority of his works are characterized by dreamy melancholy, which here and there changes into rigidity of expression; The artist has often treated the human figure too much as the allegorical bearer of abstract philosophical, political or religious ideas instead of seeking the task of art in the representation of human beauty and character.
Dupré also executed numerous medals in clay and bronze, including one by Rudolf Virchow in 1873 , and worked as a writer (memoirs Pensieri sull'arte e ricordi autobiografici ).
literature
- Ettore Spalletti: DUPRÉ, Giovanni. In: Fiorella Bartoccini (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 42: Dugoni – Enza. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1993.
- Dupré, Giovanni . In: Ulrich Thieme (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 10 : Dubolon – Erlwein . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1914, p. 172 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
Web links
- Literature by and about Giovanni Dupré in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ettore Spalletti in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dupré, Giovanni |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Duprè, Giovanni |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian sculptor and medalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 1, 1817 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Siena |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 10, 1882 |
| Place of death | Florence |