BLUE NEW 31_215x270 - Blue Liguria - Sagep

lue
art
crucifixes, sculptures of the
Madonna, groupings of statues for
saint’s day processions (“casse”),
which spread across Ligurian
territory. His fame was justified by
the heights he reached in sculptural
techniques, enhanced by his
friendships with the great artists of
Genoese Baroque, Domenico Piola,
Filippo Parodi, and Gregorio De
Ferrari. The impact which his new
and “experimental” casse – full of
angels in dynamic poses, and saints
and martyrs surrounded by windblown
drapery – had on the faithful
was truly striking. So much so that
it pushed the sculptor into quickly
hiring pupils to be able to satisfy
the many commissions that he
began to receive. We know that he
would work on several works at the
same time, and left others almost
entirely to his collaborators.
Cross-referencing the notices in
the archives with available
biographic narratives, we can reach
beyond his artistic production to
see the profile of the artist emerge,
as he dedicated himself with
constancy to his work, his family,
Particolari di alcune opere del
Maragliano e (sotto), Daniele
Sanguineti, autore dell'articolo e
del libro Anton Maria
Maragliano, 1664-1739 Insignis
Sculptor Genue. Sanguineti,
funzionario Storico dell’Arte
presso il Ministero per i Beni e le
Attività Culturali, con il ruolo di
Conservatore del Museo di Palazzo
Reale di Genova ha dedicato gran
parte della propria attività
scientifica allo studio della
scultura in legno genovese d’età
barocca. E’ professore
all’Università degli Studi di
Genova
Details of some of the works by
Maragliano and (below) Daniele
Sanguineti, author of our article
and his book, “Anton Maria
Maragliano, 1664-1739 Insignis
Sculptor Genue”. He works as an
art historian at the Ministry for
the Cultural Heritage and Cultural
Activities, as the Conservator of
the Museum of the Royal Palace
in Genoa
and above all to good food.
Maragliano was illiterate. He did
not study humanities, but trained
in the art of carving. Soon he
realized that he had reached and
surpassed his masters, his uncle,
Giovanni Battista Agnesi and
Giovanni Andrea Torre, the owner
of a famous workshop for
sculpture and decorative carving.
In 1688 at age 24, being young
and ambitious, he defied the city
woodcarvers’ guild (“bancalari”)
who, following centuries of
tradition, attempted to have him
register with them. Valuing his own
skills, he wished to execute liberal,
not “mechanical”, art. By this time
he was already supporting a family,
having married Anna Maria in
1682, with his first child (a
daughter) born two years later.
Another seven followed, among
whom was Giovanni Battista, who
also became a sculptor, and a
second son, who would become a
cune di persona, altre lasciate
quasi interamente ai collaboratori.
Incrociando le notizie d’archivio
con le narrazioni biografiche
disponibili si può andar oltre la
produzione artistica, per far
emergere il profilo di un artista
dedito con costanza al lavoro,
alla famiglia e, soprattutto,
alla buona
tavola.
Maragliano fu
analfabeta: non
ottenne un’educazione
umanistica
ma solo una
formazione strettamente
connessa
all’arte dell’intaglio.
Ben presto
però si rese conto
di aver raggiunto e
superato il talento
dei suoi maestri, lo
zio Giovanni Battista
Agnesi e Giovanni
Andrea
Torre, titolare di una
famosa bottega di scultura e intaglio
decorativo. Giovane e
ambizioso, nel 1688, a ventiquattro
anni, sfidò la corporazione
cittadina dei falegnami
(“bancalari”) che pretendevano,
secondo una secolare consuetudine,
di immatricolarlo, imponendo
loro la propria ferrea
consapevolezza di esercitare
un’arte liberale e non “meccanica”.
A quel tempo aveva già
una famiglia: nel 1682 sposò
Anna Maria e due anni dopo
ebbe la prima figlia, seguita da
altri sette, tra cui Giovanni Battista,
che divenne anch’egli
scultore, e un secondo maschio,
destinato alla professione di
chirurgo all’Ospedale cittadino
di Pammatone.
Lo scultore, che ebbe la prima
bottega in piazza dei Funghi,
nell’attuale porzione di Palazzo
Ducale attigua al palazzo Arcivescovile,
e la seconda in vico
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