FANTONI, Andrea

(b. 1659 Rovetta, d. 1734 Rovetta)

Italian sculptor and woodcarver, active in the region near Bergamo. He trained with his family of artisans as well as the noted woodcarver Pietro Ramus (1639-1682), and then traveled to Parma to work in the Palazzo Ducale. He returned to Rovetta in 1679.

His studio in Rovetta produced a variety of works, including statues, reliefs, and woodcarving. He is best known for his wooden confessional from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, and the pulpit in the Basilica di San Martino at Alzano Lombardo. There is also an altar at a parish church in Valle Camonica near Cerveno. In Clusone, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta are a number of sculptures. He also has works in the Ognissanti church in Rovetta.

Confessional

Andrea Fantoni from Rovetta, Lombardy, was a master of his own right. He worked exclusively in the provinces. His wooden confessional in Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, as well as his celebrated pulpit in the Basilica di San Martino at Alzano Lombardo, both richly decorated with statues, reliefs, and flying putti, have an almost un-Italian Rococo quality.

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Confessional

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Pulpit

This pulpit, standing in the centre of the seventeenth-century church, is richly decorated with statues, reliefs, and flying putti. It is the result of a collaboration between the leading artists of the time such as Giovan Battista Caniana (1671-1754) who took care of the project, Andrea Fantoni who performed the marble sculptures and Gian Giacomo Manni (1687-1763) who executed the inlays.

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