Giovanni Francesco PIERI (1699 - Naples 1773) - Lot 117

Giovanni Francesco PIERI (1699 - Naples 1773) The young master watching the harvest wax on slate 22 x 32 cm on verso, handwritten annotation probably dating from the 18th century: Francesco Pierj F(ecit) 1766 Fractures and lifting. Giovanni Francesco Pieri (Prato 1699-1773 Naples) began his career as a medallist, modeler and portraitist, but was recognized as the most skilled wax modeler of his time. Born in Prato, he trained in the workshop of Florentine sculptor Gioacchino Fortini around 1713-1714, creating small relief figures in polychrome wax, as documented by his biographer, Gaburri. Indeed, it was common for medallists to make their models in wax. His virtuoso talent attracted the last Grand Duke Giangastone de' Medici, who appointed him administrator of the Medici tapestry factory. After the grand duke's death, he left Florence in 1737 and settled in Naples at the invitation of Charles de Bourbon, who had met Pieri and appreciated his work while residing in Florence in 1734 as heir to the grand duchy. In Naples, Pieri managed the Arazzeria, but he also established himself as a highly successful wax modeller, successfully fusing his virtuoso technical talent with the sagacious Neapolitan spirit in his works. Because of their different characteristics, these works can be divided into four groups. The first group consists of portraits of sovereigns, which can easily be linked to his initial activity as a medallist. A second group comprises wax translations of famous paintings from the Farnese collections owned by the Bourbons in Naples. The third group includes waxworks and a significant number of small paintings depicting scenes of daily life, in keeping with the taste for popular subjects that prevailed in 18th-century Italy and Europe. An inventory of the Palazzo di Portici drawn up around 1800 describes twenty-four framed wax paintings of this type. Finally, the fourth group includes religious wax models.