FANCELLI, Cosimo
Italian sculptor. He was one of four sons of Carlo Fancelli (c. 1566-1640), a stonecutter from Arezzo. He and his older brother, Giacomo Antonio Fancelli (1619-71), also a sculptor, were trained by Bernini and often worked together on the same projects. Cosimo may have helped his brother to carve reliefs for the decoration of pilasters in the nave of St Peter’s, Rome (1647), and the colossal statue of the Nile for the Fountain of the Four Rivers (1648-50; Rome, Piazza Navona); both projects were designed and supervised by Bernini. Cosimo also worked closely with Pietro da Cortona from 1648 until the latter’s death in 1669, and between 1667 and 1669 with Bernini, Carlo Rainaldi and Johann Paul Schor. He was one of the most prolific Roman sculptors of his generation, and he specialized in providing stucco sculpture for large projects designed by architects and decorators. His style was derived from that of the artists with whom he collaborated.
