Head of a young man facing right
| Reference: | S39923 |
| Author | Benigno BOSSI |
| Year: | 1755 ca. |
| Measures: | 73 x 100 mm |
€180.00
| Reference: | S39923 |
| Author | Benigno BOSSI |
| Year: | 1755 ca. |
| Measures: | 73 x 100 mm |
€180.00
Description
Etching, 1755, signed at the lower right.
From the "Raccolta di teste inventate, disegnate ed incise da Benigno Bossi".
The series of portraits by Benigno Bossi consists of 49 etchings (Le Blanc vol. I, p. 483), including title pages.
The plates are dated from 1755 to 1795. On the titlepage we read the imprint "Milano da Gioachino Bettalli e C. Cont.a del Capello N. 4131".
Bossi was an expert in all processes of engraving, from linear to tone - Aquatint (lavis) was taken by him to its fullest performance potential, both as a medium in itself and in association with others. Much of his activity as an engraver was devoted to the works of Parmigianino, for whom he nurtured a true cult. Of Petitot he engraved, in addition to the Suite de vases tirée du cabinet de Monsieur du Tillot marquis de Felino..., Milan 1764, some Piranesi-inspired Fireplaces and a Mascarade à la Grecque d'après les dessins originaux tirés du cabinet de... le marquis de Felino..., Parma 1771. Not content to do, as an engraver, only work of reproduction, he carved from the very beginning also plates of his own invention, and on them indeed he was pleased to place the emphasis, as if to vindicate his creative genius, bringing them together again and again, with variants, in volumes with different titles: Raccolta di teste inventate, disegnate ed incise da Benigno Bossi; Fisionomie possibili; Prove all'Acquaforte; Miscellanea; Trofei, etc.
The production of "heads" and "possible physiognomies" corresponded to a fashion of the time, rooted in Leonardo's famous deformations, but which in the specific field of engraving had been exploited especially by Grechetto in the seventeenth century and by Tiepolo in the eighteenth century: that is, the authors Bossi seems to keep especially in mind. To the mannered heads, such as of prevalence were being produced in those years, he evidently wanted to contrast his heads from life, remarkable for their icasticity and expressive punctuation.
Bibliografia
cfr. M. CASTELLI ZANZUCCHI, Contributo allo studio di Benigno Bossi, "Parma per l'arte", 1960, 10, pp. 149-185.
Benigno BOSSI (Arcisate di Como, 1727; Parma, 4 Novembre 1792)
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Italian stuccoist, printmaker, painter and collector. Before studying anything else he learned stucco decoration from his father Pietro Luigi (1754), who worked in Germany from 1743 until his death. Stucco work always remained Bossi’s main activity, alongside that of printmaking, especially etching. His experiments in the latter field followed in the tradition of the great Venetian printmakers. He was encouraged by Charles-François Hutin, who was in Dresden from 1753 to 1757 and whom he followed to Milan and Parma. His first etching, based on a work by Bartolomeo Nazari (1693–1758), was done in Milan in 1758. From 1759 on he was in Parma, where he produced some plates for the Iconologie tirée de divers auteurs (1759) by Jean-Baptiste Boudard, and where he executed the stucco trophy decoration for the attic of S Pietro, the construction of which began in 1761. From this date Bossi also collaborated with the designer Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot, for whom he engraved the Suite de vases tirée du cabinet de Monsieur du Tillot (Milan, 1764). From 1 April 1766 Bossi was employed as a stucco artist at the Bourbon court in Parma, with an annual stipend of 5000 lire, and as a teacher at the Accademia di Belle Arti, where he won the prize for ornamentation. In 1767 reconstruction work began on the Palazzo del Giardino, where Bossi produced extensive stucco decoration notable for the elegance and lightness of the rocaille and Arcadian motifs interwoven in a way that just avoids symmetrical subdivisions of space. Among the few oil paintings securely attributed to Bossi are the altarpieces of the Apparition of Soriano (1781) and of the Blessed Orsolina Veneri before Clement VII (1786), the latter commissioned by Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Sicily (1759–1825) for S Quintino in Parma. Bossi’s prints merit separate consideration in terms of both quality and quantity. He preferred etching above all, especially for his original prints, such as the series of Fisionomie possibili (c. 1775–8) and the illustrations for such books as Gastone della Torre Rezzonico’s Discorsi accademici (Parma, 1772). Bossi was also a passionate collector of prints, both for sale and as sources of new ideas for himself and the numerous pupils who were trained in his school. In his prints as well as through his draughtsmanship and stucco work, Bossi helped introduce to Parma the style of Central European Rococo.
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Benigno BOSSI (Arcisate di Como, 1727; Parma, 4 Novembre 1792)
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Italian stuccoist, printmaker, painter and collector. Before studying anything else he learned stucco decoration from his father Pietro Luigi (1754), who worked in Germany from 1743 until his death. Stucco work always remained Bossi’s main activity, alongside that of printmaking, especially etching. His experiments in the latter field followed in the tradition of the great Venetian printmakers. He was encouraged by Charles-François Hutin, who was in Dresden from 1753 to 1757 and whom he followed to Milan and Parma. His first etching, based on a work by Bartolomeo Nazari (1693–1758), was done in Milan in 1758. From 1759 on he was in Parma, where he produced some plates for the Iconologie tirée de divers auteurs (1759) by Jean-Baptiste Boudard, and where he executed the stucco trophy decoration for the attic of S Pietro, the construction of which began in 1761. From this date Bossi also collaborated with the designer Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot, for whom he engraved the Suite de vases tirée du cabinet de Monsieur du Tillot (Milan, 1764). From 1 April 1766 Bossi was employed as a stucco artist at the Bourbon court in Parma, with an annual stipend of 5000 lire, and as a teacher at the Accademia di Belle Arti, where he won the prize for ornamentation. In 1767 reconstruction work began on the Palazzo del Giardino, where Bossi produced extensive stucco decoration notable for the elegance and lightness of the rocaille and Arcadian motifs interwoven in a way that just avoids symmetrical subdivisions of space. Among the few oil paintings securely attributed to Bossi are the altarpieces of the Apparition of Soriano (1781) and of the Blessed Orsolina Veneri before Clement VII (1786), the latter commissioned by Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Sicily (1759–1825) for S Quintino in Parma. Bossi’s prints merit separate consideration in terms of both quality and quantity. He preferred etching above all, especially for his original prints, such as the series of Fisionomie possibili (c. 1775–8) and the illustrations for such books as Gastone della Torre Rezzonico’s Discorsi accademici (Parma, 1772). Bossi was also a passionate collector of prints, both for sale and as sources of new ideas for himself and the numerous pupils who were trained in his school. In his prints as well as through his draughtsmanship and stucco work, Bossi helped introduce to Parma the style of Central European Rococo.
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