Sculptor Antonio Brilla was born 22 September 1813 in Savona. Son of Giacomo Brilla, a muralist, sculptor, and composer of presepi, Antonio studied under and eventually worked alongside his father, a testament to which is the documentation from 1836 for a now lost sculptural group depicting The Flagellation of Christ on which both father and son worked together.
In the years following, Brilla traveled to Florence for further study, befriending fellow sculptors Giovanni Duprè and Lorenzo Bartolini. By the time he returned to Savona several years later, however, his acclaim had been established. With the opening of his studio, Brilla ushered in a wide range of commissions for churches across Liguria that ranged in material from the preciousness of ivory to the more universal polychrome that complemented many of his pieces. By the time of his death in 1891, Brilla had become one of the most treasured artists figures working in Savona, with his two sons, Stefano and Francesco, carrying on the artistic workshop.
FURTHER READING:
Franco Sborgi, “BRILLA, Antonio.” Dizioanri oBiografico degli Italiani, Vol. 14 (1972).
The Finding of the Empty Tomb of Christ, 1889, Sacro Monte di Crea, Serralunga di Crea.
The Flagellation of Christ, 1836-1837. Museo Diocesano Alba.
Madonna della Misericordia, Santuario di Nostra Signora del Gazzo, Monte Gazzo, Genoa.
The Entombment, 1866, Oratorio del Cristo Risorto, Savona.
27 June, 2022
Dear Madame and/or Gentleman:
I have an Italian Majolica, sculpted by Mr. Antonio Brilla, which was bought by them in an Antique Shop in Canada in the mid to end of the 1950s,
Photo: Part of the Majolica, which demonstrates origins and other data.is available on request.
kINDLY, I would like to have any information on Mr. Antonio Brilla’s Majolica art work, if possible, on the piece that I own.
Sincerely yours,
Ada del Carmen Davila Santaella