Early life Antonio Montauti was born in Florence in 1685. A pupil of
Giuseppe Piamontini, he was first active as a
medalist; one of his earliest and most exquisite medals celebrated the visit of King
Frederick IV of Denmark to Florence in 1708. On the obverse is a portrait of the King; on the reverse, a view of the city with a reclining river god personifying the
Arno (Florence,
Bargello). A medal of Conte
Lorenzo Magalotti, dated 1712 (version, London,
British Museum) has
Apollo on the reverse, whose exaggerated sway in the hips is reflected in two later small bronzes (
Palazzo Corsini, Rome). There are also two medals of the Grand Duke
Gian Gastone de' Medici (before 1723 and 1731; both Florence, Bargello).
Career From the mid 1710s Montauti began his career as a sculptor. About 1715, he carved two reliefs of St. Philip Neri, depicting the
Ecstasy of Philip and the
Distribution of Bread for the church of
San Firenze in Florence. In 1721, a supposedly lost Ganymede and four other marbles he was carving for John Molesworth were described as his "first works"; however "Ganymede and the Eagle" plus a statue of Hebe, stated as being by Montauti and "probably commissioned by the Hon. John Molesworth", recently surfaced at the Christie's auction house, described as "the property of a lady" and having been originally purchased by
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield in around 1723-25 and kept thereafter at the latter's newly refurbished historic property
Shirburn Castle until recent times, when they were sold for £79,250 each in 2009. In 1726, he made large marble statue of ''Saint
Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi'' for the cloister of
San Frediano in Cestello. Montauti’s careful characterizations in the portrait medals are reflected in his marble portrait busts. One, of Gian Gastone de’ Medici (; Florence,
Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova), emphasizes the ugly features of large nose, pouting lips and jutting chin by using a schematic treatment for the wig. Small bronzes also formed an important part of Montauti’s work. His masterpiece, the
Return of the Prodigal Son, signed and dated 1724 (h. 631 mm;
Detroit Institute of Arts), is one of 12 bronze groups made for the Electress Palatine
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. The
Prodigal Son is a fine example of the new dramatic treatment of pictorial groups that was emerging in Florence in the 1720s. A second version of the group (h. 650 mm) is in the
National Museum Cardiff. Montauti does not seem to have made life-size marble statues before the mid-1720s. In Florence his most interesting examples are
Innocence and Religion in the Cappella Maggiore of
Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi. Their animated drapery folds are descriptive of the form beneath; that of Innocence forms a strong, serpentine curve. Montauti was commissioned to complete this series of
Cardinal Virtues with Faith and Penitence opposite. However, these were executed later by
Innocenzo Spinazzi. Montauti also contributed statues to the basilica of
Mafra, Portugal, for which he carved St. Peter and St. Paul in 1732. St. Peter’s drapery still reveals the form beneath, whereas St. Paul’s heavy folds of drapery across the hips anticipate Montauti’s Roman works.
In Rome In 1733 Montauti was called to Rome by the diplomat
Cardinal Alamanno Salviati, for whom he may have made the second version of the
Prodigal Son. Unfortunately, the contents of Montauti’s Florentine
studio were shipwrecked during the move. His principal Roman commissions were St. Benedict (1735), one of the series of gigantic statues of the founders of religious orders in
St. Peter's Basilica; and the life-size
Pietà for the crypt of the Corsini Chapel in the
Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. The
Pietà, completed before 1736, recalls the marble bas-relief of the same subject carved by
Agostino Cornacchini for the crypt chapel in the basilica of Superga, Turin. Montauti’s later works are characterized by a new, Roman monumentality, with more classical poses, full drapery and expressive faces. In the
Pietà the expression on the
Virgin’s face recalls those of
Bernini’s ecstatic female figures, and the Instruments of the Passion are offset by heavy, cascading drapery. In 1735
Pope Clement XII appointed Montauti Architect of St. Peter’s (but there is no evidence that he ever worked as an architect); after this he appears to have lost interest in his career as a sculptor. == Gallery ==