On this day (16 March) in 1796, the Italian sculptor, Cincinnato Baruzzi was born in Imola. His parents were Vincenzo Luigi and Maria Tadolini. After completing his schooling in Imola, Cincinnato moved on to Giacomo De Maria’s school of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna.
By the age of eighteen, Cincinnato had won a top prize ( the Allunato) at the academy and this achievement ensured that he could move on to the studio of Antonio Canova in Rome. Following Canova’s death in 1822, Cincinnato became the new director of his former master’s studio.
In 1832, Cincinnato returned to Bologna in order to take up an appointment as Professor of Sculpture at the academy there, He retained this role until 1860.
Although never politically active, Cincinnato’s friendships with individuals linked to the Carbonari group, who were involved in the revolution of 1831, brought him to the attention of the statesman Luigi Carlo Farini who, at the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1859, implemented purges of individuals who were synonymous with the old regimen. Accordingly, Cincinnato retired to his Bolognese villa and died there on January 26. 1878.
Images: Karl Bryullov, The Sculptor Cincinnato Baruzzi, 1833-1834, oil on canvas, Collezioni Comunali d’Arte Bologna. Wikimedia Commons.
Cincinnato Baruzzi, Eve Tempted by the Serpent, 1836, marble, Milano, Galleria d’Arte Moderna. Wikimedia Commons.
Pieta, 19th century, marble, SS. Salvatore, Terracina, Lazio. Wikimedia Commons.
Cupid and Psyche, marble, 19th century, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
References: Antonella Mampieri, Cincinnato Baruzzi (1796-1878), Bononia University Press, 2014.
Biography of Cincinnato Baruzzi in http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/cincinnato-baruzzi_(Dizionario-Biografico) Treccani © All rights Reserved.
Biography of Cincinnato Baruzzi in https://www.storiaememoriadibologna.it/baruzzi-cincinnato-482403-persona