Pietro Duranti

Pietro Duranti (* 1710 in Rome , † 1786 in Naples ) was a tapestry weaver in Naples.

Life

On the recommendation of the architect Luigi Vanvitelli , Duranti came to Naples in 1757, where he was entrusted with the reorganization of the royal tapestry manufacture. So he converted the manufacture from horizontal to vertical looms, which had been introduced by Michelangelo Cavanna from Milan as early as 1753.

He hired a number of talented tapestries from Turin and Rome and painters from Naples who had to provide templates for carpets, including Giuseppe Bonito , Alessandro and Fedele Fischetti as well as Antonio Dominici and others. His main work is the three-series, 30-part cycle with “Scenes from the Life of Don Quixote ” (1758–1778) and a seven-part series “ Amor and Psyche ” (1783–1786). Most of the carpets he woven were taken to Paris by Napoleon Bonaparte and not returned to Naples.

Works (selection)

• Chiesa di San Carlo alle Mortelle (Palermo): tapestries (1763–57)
• Palazzo Reale (Naples) : Room V. “The Rape of Proserpine ” (1763) and Room XXII. " Amor und Psyche " (1786) based on a design by Alessandro and Fedele Fischetti , as well as "Allegory of Innocence" and "Allegory of Fertility" (1766) based on designs by Giuseppe Bonito .
• Quirinal Palace (Rome): Two tapestries from the series " Don Quixote " (1789 and 1770)

literature

• Duranti, Pietro . 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. 209–210 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
• Chiara Garzya Romano: Duranti, Pietro. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Volume 42, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1993 ( treccani.it ).