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A Venetian Ecclesiastic: A Sculpture by Giova nni Bonazza from the Na tional Gallery of Art in Washington

The bust of a Venetian Ecclesiastic was attributed to Giusto Le Court (Ypres, 1627 − Venice, 1679) and dated to the third quarter of the seventeenth century. But this sculpture shows clear and unambiguous analogies with the works of Le Court’s pupil Giovanni Bonazza (Venice, 1654 − Padua, 1736). Returning in order to Giovanni Bonazza’s teacher Giusto Le Court, in order to show the differences between the two sculptors, the “Fiammingo” can be attributed the sculptural decoration of the large marble frame for the painting of Pietro Negri in the Venetian church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The new additions to the catalogues of Giovanni Bonazza and his teacher Giusto Le Court show a mutual connection between these two protagonists of Venetian sculpture. Naturally, there are also clear differences that followed the development and changes in the Venetian sculpture from the 1670s to the first decade of the Settecento. The monumentality and power visible in the cherub heads in the Frari are transformed in the Washington bust into a softer, subtler and more caricature-like expression, heralding new trends and ideas in the sculptural works of the Serenissima.

Giovanni Bonazza; Venetian Ecclesiastic; Washington; Giusto Le Court; Frari; marble

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