TERILLI, Francesco - b. ~1580 Feltre, d. ~1633 ?

Italian sculptor. His signature is often accompanied by the adjective ‘Feltrensis’, which suggests that he was a native of Feltre, although there is no documentary evidence of this. However, numerous works either signed by or attributed to the sculptor are scattered throughout the Feltre district, for example the Redeemer, St Peter and St Prosdocimus (all Feltre Cathedral), and a bronze door-knocker with a Blessed Bernardino (Feltre, Museo Civico). He was influenced by the work of Alessandro Vittoria, and his sculptures, such as the bronze pair of John the Baptist and the Redeemer (1610; Venice, Chiesa del Redentore) and the wooden equestrian monument of Pompeo Giustiniani (Venice, SS Giovanni e Paolo), erected in 1616-17 at the request of the Venetian senate, are characterized by both delicacy and restraint.

One of the most important of Terilli’s known works is the signed Virgin and Child (Arten, near Fonzaso, S Gottardo), in a style reminiscent of the 16th century. Other works include Christ at the Column (Udine, Museo Civico), which is stylistically related to both a Christ in a private collection in Venice and another similar bronze group (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). One of Terilli’s best works is the figure of a Scholar (c. 1620; private collection), an exquisite sculpture in polychromed wood. The date of 1633 painted on a St Mark, a pendant to a St John the Evangelist in the Mugnai church, Feltre, is the last record of Terilli’s activity.

Equestrian Monument to General Pompeo Giustiniani

Terilli’s wooden equestrian monument of Pompeo Giustiniani, erected in 1616-17 at the request of the Venetian senate, is characterized by both delicacy and restraint.

General Pompeo Giustiniani was a Genoese in the service of the Venetian Republic. He died at the siege of Gorizia in 1616.