Sculptor Tito Sarrocchi was born on 5 January 1824 in Siena. He had a traditional artistic training, starting out as apprentice in the workshop of a stone-cutter employed at the Cathedral. At the same time, he started attending the Art Academy, first in Siena and then in Florence. Here he studied with the engraver, painter and writer Luigi Bartolini, and with sculptor Giovanni Duprè.
His most famous work — seen by more than 163,000 tourists in 2008 — is the Fonte Gaia, a monumental fountain in Siena’s main square, Piazza del Campo. Designed by Renaissance artist Jacopo della Quercia in the 1410s, the original fountain was so damaged by 1858 that Sarocchi was commissioned to realize a copy, completed in 1869.
Apart from the fountain, Sarrocchi executed several funerary monuments, especially for the Misericordia Cemetery in Siena. Sculptures such as Tobias burying the dead (1870-73) show not only the artist’s painstaking technical skill, but also his originality.
After a long career, Sarrocchi died on 30 July 1900 in his hometown.
Reference: Anna Maria Ciaranfi, “Tito Sarrocchi,” Enciclopedia italiana (1936). http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tito-sarrocchi_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/
Fonte Gaia, rebuilt by Tito Sarrocchi in 1858-1869, Piazza del Campo, Siena.
The Finding of the True Cross, 1865, facade of Santa Croce, Florence.
Tobias Buries the Dead, 1873, Cappella D’Elci-Pannocchieschi, Cimitero della Misericordia, Siena. Photo credits: www.scultura-italiana.com
Detail of Tobia Buries the Dead, 1873, Cappella D’Elci-Pannocchieschi, Cimitero della Misericordia, Siena. Photo credits: www.scultura-italiana.com
Monument to Sallustio Bandini, 1880, Piazza Salimbeni, Siena.