Giovanni Baratta

Giovanni Baratta was a distinguished sculptor of the Florentine late Baroque who successfully cultivated patrons from the leading courts of Europe. It was in fact Grand Duke Ferdinando de’Medici whose recommendation led to Baratta's first major commission, Tobias and the Angel, unveiled in 1698 for the church of Santo Spirito. The Grand Duke would later become Baratta's patron.

Baratta began his career in Florence as a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, but it was in Rome, under the supervision of Camillo Rusconi and Domenico Guidi, that he developed his style. After returning to Florence in 1696, he received commissions to carve sculptures for a variety of churches, and at the beginning of 18th century he enjoyed the patronage of important international clients, including Frederick IV, King of Denmark. 

The present relief is an elegant example of Baratta’s skill at relief carving and relates to one of his most prestigious commissions. In 1736 Baratta was commissioned to design the sculptural and architectural elements on the façade of the Royal Palace of La Granja de Sam Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain. Specifically, this relief follows one of two medallions which adorn the façade facing the garden of the Palace, depicting Minerva and Mars.

The two reliefs of Mars are nearly identical with the exception of adjustments to the present relief to account for its smaller size and oval frame. For example, the larger medallion has more extensive drill work and more pronounced projection as the piece was obviously intended to be viewed from below and at a distance. Accordingly, the present relief has much finer details, especially visible in the ornament on the armour and the plumage decorating the helmet.

Vittoria Brunetti has mused on the commissioning of the present oval relief, suggesting that it may have been intended for the private collection of a member of the court, intended to widen Baratta’s circle of patrons in Spain (Brunetti, op. cit., p. 35). Alternatively, Brunetti suggests the piece may have been intended as a prototype for the façade of San Ildefonso and sent directly to the King. In any case, the present example is more refined than the larger medallion and was clearly intended for close-up viewing and appreciation. It was most likely created with a now lost pendant of Minerva, again following the medallion at San Ildefonso.

RELATED LITERATURE

V. Brunetti, ‘Un Marte “da galleria”, opera di Giovanni Baratta’, Predella journal of visual arts, no.47, 2020, pp. 33-39; G. Pratesi, Repertorio della Scultura fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento, Turin, 1993, vol. 1, pp. 36-37 and vol. 2, nos. 14-21; S. Bellesi and M. Visonà, Giovacchino Fortini: Scultura architettura decorazione e committenza a Firenze al tempo degli ultimi Medici, Florence, 2008, vo. 1, p. 105