FANTACCHIOTTI, Odoardo

Italian sculptor, renowned for his refined marbles which revived Renaissance-inspired subjects in the Neoclassical period. These skills are highlighted in a low-relief carving of the Virgin and Child in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. So impressive was his technique that it was initially thought the relief may have been by Donatello when the museum purchased it from a private collection. It was suggested at the turn of the century that it postdated the Renaissance, and Sir John Pope-Hennessy later attributed it to Fantacchiotti’s hand.

Fantacchiotti attended the Accademia in Florence and trained under Stefano Ricci (1765-1837), who was a follower of Canova and Thorvaldsen. As his artistic career developed, Fantacchiotti became known as a master in conveying emotion through the medium of sculpture.