{"id":22142,"date":"2026-03-03T10:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mandragora.it\/prodotto\/two-portraits-by-giovanni-gonnelli\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:00:05","slug":"two-portraits-by-giovanni-gonnelli","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.mandragora.it\/en\/prodotto\/two-portraits-by-giovanni-gonnelli\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Portraits by Giovanni Gonnelli"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gerardo Moscariello<\/p>\n

This volume presents the history of two busts owned by the Rob Smeets Gallery \u2013 a Portrait of Ferdinando II de\u2019 Medici and a Portrait of a Gentleman \u2013 as well as their creator, Giovanni Gonnelli. Gonnelli was born in Gambassi, and joined the workshop of the Settignanese sculptor Chiarissimo Fancelli, himself a pupil of Giovanni Caccini and over Gonnelli continued his training in the renowned workshop of Pietro Tacca in Borgo Pinti.<\/p>\n

Gonnelli left Florence and, according to Baldinucci, moved to Mantua, possibly at the explicit invitation of Duke Carlo I of Gonzaga-Nevers. He returned to Florence not after a decade of inactivity caused by blindness, but possibly already by 1633 \u2013 if one accepts the attribution of the terracotta bust of Cosimo II, now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello \u2013 possibly rejoining Tacca\u2019s workshop for a brief period. By this point in his career, the artist had perfected his prodigious technique of shaping clay by studying his subjects solely through touch. Specialising in portraiture \u2013 a genre in which he was both prolific and highly sought after \u2013 Gonnelli earned extraordinary renown, not only in Italy but also among Europe\u2019s leading dignitaries and was employed by the pope, cardinals, and the city\u2019s most illustrious dignitaries, who almost competed to secure a portrait modelled by the Blindman of Gambassi.
\n
\nDigital version available on<\/strong> \"\"
\nhttps:\/\/digital.casalini.it\/9788874617999<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22141,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[101],"product_tag":[4883,4880,4886,4881,2949,4884,4885,4887,4882],"class_list":["post-22142","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-monographs","product_tag-castelfiorentino","product_tag-light","product_tag-loam","product_tag-modelling","product_tag-portrait","product_tag-rome","product_tag-terracotta","product_tag-touch","product_tag-volterra","pa_anno-january-2026","first","outofstock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Portraits by Giovanni Gonnelli - Mandragora<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mandragora.it\/en\/prodotto\/two-portraits-by-giovanni-gonnelli\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Portraits by Giovanni Gonnelli - Mandragora\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Gerardo Moscariello This volume presents the history of two busts owned by the Rob Smeets Gallery \u2013 a Portrait of Ferdinando II de\u2019 Medici and a Portrait of a Gentleman \u2013 as well as their creator, Giovanni Gonnelli. Gonnelli was born in Gambassi, and joined the workshop of the Settignanese sculptor Chiarissimo Fancelli, himself a pupil of Giovanni Caccini and over Gonnelli continued his training in the renowned workshop of Pietro Tacca in Borgo Pinti. Gonnelli left Florence and, according to Baldinucci, moved to Mantua, possibly at the explicit invitation of Duke Carlo I of Gonzaga-Nevers. He returned to Florence not after a decade of inactivity caused by blindness, but possibly already by 1633 \u2013 if one accepts the attribution of the terracotta bust of Cosimo II, now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello \u2013 possibly rejoining Tacca\u2019s workshop for a brief period. By this point in his career, the artist had perfected his prodigious technique of shaping clay by studying his subjects solely through touch. Specialising in portraiture \u2013 a genre in which he was both prolific and highly sought after \u2013 Gonnelli earned extraordinary renown, not only in Italy but also among Europe\u2019s leading dignitaries and was employed by the pope, cardinals, and the city\u2019s most illustrious dignitaries, who almost competed to secure a portrait modelled by the Blindman of Gambassi. 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