- "Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas" -IN MONTE DOMINUS VIDETUR-edit
Il saggio si sofferma sul gusto artistico della classe nobiliare sarda in epoca spagnola, focalizzando l’attenzione sulla figura di Francesc’Angelo Dessì (1600-1674), nobile cavaliere originario di Bortigali, magistrato della Reale... more
Il saggio si sofferma sul gusto artistico della classe nobiliare sarda in epoca spagnola, focalizzando l’attenzione sulla figura di Francesc’Angelo Dessì (1600-1674), nobile cavaliere originario di Bortigali, magistrato della Reale Udienza a Cagliari, e il suo speciale rapporto con la Compagnia di Gesù. Si avvale di documentazione inedita, rinvenuta negli Archivi di Stato di Cagliari e di Torino, composta prevalentemente da testamenti ed inventari notarili. Vengono presi in esame i ritratti pittorici e i monumenti marmorei dedicati a F.A. Dessì per commemorarne la generosità nei confronti dei novizi oltre che di poveri, carcerati e infermi. In appendice, sono riportati il testamento di F.A. Dessì del 25 aprile 1674, in cui nomina come erede il Noviziato gesuitico di S. Michele a Cagliari, e il contratto di commissione della statua-ritratto del Dessì allo scultore Cosimo Fadda da parte dell’Amministrazione dell’Ospedale civile di Cagliari dell’11 giugno 1888, entrambi inediti.
Parole chiave: Committenza artistica, Sardegna spagnola; Gesuiti; Francesc’Angelo Dessì; Cosimo Fadda.
Clients, benefactors and philantropists in Spanish Sardinia.
Francesc’Angelo Dessì and the Society of Jesus
Abstract - This essay dwells on the taste for art of the Sardinian aristocratic class during the Spanish period and focuses on the figure of Francesc'Angelo Dessì (1600-1674). He was a noble knight, born in Bortigali, judge of the Reale Udienza in Cagliari and had a special relation with the Society of Jesus. To that end, we will make use of unpublished documentation, consisting for the most part of wills and notarial inventories, found in the State Archives of Cagliari and Torino.
We will then consider the portraits and the marble monuments erected to pay homage to his generosity with poor people, prisoners and the sick. Appemdix: The will of F.A. Dessi of the 25th of April 1674 and the factor's agreement of the statue-portrait commissioned to the sculptor Cosimo Fadda in the 11th of June 1888, both unpublished.
Key words: Artistic commission, Spanish Sardinia; The Society of Jesus; Francesc'Angelo Dessì; Cosimo Fadda.
Parole chiave: Committenza artistica, Sardegna spagnola; Gesuiti; Francesc’Angelo Dessì; Cosimo Fadda.
Clients, benefactors and philantropists in Spanish Sardinia.
Francesc’Angelo Dessì and the Society of Jesus
Abstract - This essay dwells on the taste for art of the Sardinian aristocratic class during the Spanish period and focuses on the figure of Francesc'Angelo Dessì (1600-1674). He was a noble knight, born in Bortigali, judge of the Reale Udienza in Cagliari and had a special relation with the Society of Jesus. To that end, we will make use of unpublished documentation, consisting for the most part of wills and notarial inventories, found in the State Archives of Cagliari and Torino.
We will then consider the portraits and the marble monuments erected to pay homage to his generosity with poor people, prisoners and the sick. Appemdix: The will of F.A. Dessi of the 25th of April 1674 and the factor's agreement of the statue-portrait commissioned to the sculptor Cosimo Fadda in the 11th of June 1888, both unpublished.
Key words: Artistic commission, Spanish Sardinia; The Society of Jesus; Francesc'Angelo Dessì; Cosimo Fadda.
Research Interests:
The artistic relations between Sardinia and the Crown of Aragon are related with historical events: after the conquest of the island, Iberian artists moved to Sardinia, just like Sardinian carvers and stonecutters went to Barcelona,... more
The artistic relations between Sardinia and the Crown of Aragon are related with historical events: after the conquest of the island, Iberian artists moved to Sardinia, just like Sardinian carvers and stonecutters went to Barcelona, Valencia or Mallorca. We propose a reflection on the exchange of different ideas among several stone and wood artists. It is possible to observe the presence of same motifs inspired by tradition. It is a common artistic heritage typical of the Sardinian territory. Decorations depended on the availability of materials, conservative taste of clients or on economic factors. For such reasons, in those areas we can't find the works of artists, that in the XVIII century replaced ancient ecclesiastical stone or wood fittings with expensive marble altars. The comparison between carving and intaglio brings out the characteristics of Sardinian ornamental taste: planarity, geometrical abstraction, stylization of figures, reinterpretation of ancient tradition, the century-old persistence of motifs, the hybridization of different styles.
Key words: Sardinia; Stonecutters; Carvers; Motifs; Printing models.
Key words: Sardinia; Stonecutters; Carvers; Motifs; Printing models.
Research Interests:
Il saggio traccia un itinerario della rappresentazione delle Vergini tra medioevo ed età moderna, soffermandosi sul pregnante significato spirituale che il tema assume in epoca postridentina. Ciò consente la rilettura di un ciclo... more
Il saggio traccia un itinerario della rappresentazione delle Vergini tra medioevo ed età moderna, soffermandosi sul pregnante significato spirituale che il tema assume in epoca postridentina. Ciò consente la rilettura di un ciclo gesuitico smembrato tra Cagliari, Ploaghe e Sassari, che fu modello per numerose copie e varianti in diverse località in Italia e Spagna, confermando la fortuna di questa speciale iconografia.
