Giocondo Albertolli

Giocondo Albertolli

Giocondo Albertolli (24 July 1743 – 15 November 1839) was a Swiss-born architect, painter, and sculptor who was active in Italy during the Neoclassical period.

He was born into a the family of artists at Bedano, a village 7km north of the Ticinese capital Lugano. He studied at Parma under a sculptor, and also in the Academy, and became known for his ornamental architectural decorations. In 1776 he was elected professor of ornament at the newly-created Brera Academy in Milan; he held this post for more than a quarter of a century until failing eyesight caused him to resign in 1812. In 1809 Napoleon made him a Knight of the Iron Crown. Albertolli was much employed in decorating palaces, churches, and public buildings in Italy, and gave a new impetus to the art of ornamental design in that country. His paintings are scarce. A Madonna and Child by him is in the Milanese church of S. Rocco.

Giocondo Albertolli died in Milan in 1839 at the age of ninety-six. His son, Rafaello was an engraver.

References

• Bryan, Michael (1886). Robert Edmund Graves (ed.). Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical (Volume I: A-K). York St. #4, Covent Garden, London; Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18, 2007: George Bell and Sons. pp. page 14. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location (link)