Antonio Raggi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antonio Raggi
Angel with the Column, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome.
Born	1624 Vico Morcote, Ticino
Died	1686 Rome
Nationality	Swiss-Italian
Education	Gianlorenzo Bernini
Known for	sculpture
Notable work	Death of Saint Cecilia, Baptism of Christ, Angel with the Column

Antonio Raggi (1624–1686) was a famous sculptor from the Baroque period in Rome. He was also known as Antonio Lombardo. He came from a region called Ticino, which is in modern-day Switzerland.

Antonio Raggi: A Master Sculptor

Antonio Raggi was born in Vico Morcote, a town near Lake Lugano. When he moved to Rome, he trained with two very important sculptors. First, he worked with Alessandro Algardi. Later, he joined the workshop of Gianlorenzo Bernini. Bernini was a famous artist, and Raggi became his closest and most active student. Bernini often gave Raggi detailed small models (called modelli) to work from. He also watched Raggi's work closely. This meant that Raggi's sculptures looked very much like Bernini's own art.

Raggi created many beautiful works. He made the stucco decorations for San Tomaso di Villanova in Castel Gandolfo. He also did the stucco work for Bernini's Sant'Andrea church. Raggi sculpted statues of Saint Bernardino and Pope Alexander VII Chigi for the Duomo di Siena. He also made the Virgin and Child for a church in Paris. Around 1665, he created the Baptism of Christ for Borromini's altar in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. He also made a kneeling figure of Saint Bernardino of Siena. This was for Alexander VII's chapel at Santa Maria della Pace.

His Most Famous Work

Raggi's most famous work is a marble relief called Death of Saint Cecilia. You can find it in the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona, Rome. A relief is a type of sculpture where the figures stick out from a flat surface.

Working with Other Artists

Raggi was very important in creating the amazing stucco decorations inside the Church of the Gesù. These decorations went along with the ceiling fresco painted by Giovanni Battista Gaulli. Stucco is a type of plaster that can be molded into shapes. Raggi worked with other artists like Leonardo Retti, Michele Maglia, and Paolo Naldini on this project. His stucco sculpture of Saint Andrew in Sant' Andrea della Valle shows the saint rising to Heaven on a cloud. This sculpture followed Bernini's original design.

Raggi also helped complete one of the ten angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge. These angels carry symbols of Jesus's suffering. Raggi's angel, Angel with the Column, was based on a sketch by Bernini. He also carved the statue of the Danube river. This statue is part of Bernini's famous Fountain of Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.

Raggi became a member of the Accademia di San Luca on July 1, 1657. This was an important art academy in Rome. Antonio Raggi passed away in Rome in 1686.

Gallery

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  St Bernard, Chigi Chapel, Siena.

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  St Carlo Borromeo, Facade of San Carlino, Rome.

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  Noli Me Tangere, SS Domenico e Sisto, Rome.

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  Angel Urges Flight to Egypt (1675) with busts of flanking donors, Ginnetti chapel, Sant'Andrea della Valle, Rome.

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  Ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur coelestium, terrestrium et infernorum" by Raggi and Retti, designed by Baciccio. Vault of Gesù, Rome.

See also

In Spanish: Antonio Raggi para niños