ANDREA BRUSTOLON (ambito di)

(Belluno, 1662 - 1732) Three patinated boxwood carved armchairs, Veneto, early 18th century Frame as rich naturalistic trellis on front feet in the form of crouching lions and back feet on clawed sphere, allegorical putti lodge in uprights, those on armrests with heads of fantastic animals and eagles, covered in damask fabric of later date; defects, some breaks and missing in friezes, frames to be consolidated, fabric replaced, restorations and replacements H. cm 125, W. cm 95, D. cm 87 (3) The specimens offered here are part of a larger series as evidenced by the seats of the same workmanship, but upholstered in different fabric, that furnished the Eagle Room of the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków from 1927 (National Art Collection). Their elaborate stylistic-iconographical layout, fully summarizes the typical characters dear to the making of Andrea Brustolon (1662 - 1732); they refer unequivocally to the Belluno master's sphere where the plastic rendering of his works, often with truly astonishing results, makes the observer find himself no longer in front of a piece of furniture of use, but rather of a purely sculptural apparatus. For comparison with ours and the Polish ones, just to mention a few works known to scholars, see the famous Finimento Venier of Cà Rezzonico in Venice (C. Alberici, Il mobile veneto, Milan 1980, pp. 162-170 and E. Colle, Il mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan 2000, p. 338) and, again for the same rooms, the large vase holders of different series with putti, Moors servants and mythological characters; and again, among other seats, the twelve Pisani high chairs with the signs of the Zodiac should be mentioned (A. González-Palacios, I mobili italiani. Il patrimonio artistico del Quirinale, Milan 1996, pp. 252-269, no. 95), a recognized example of absolute virtuosity already among the greatest masterpieces of the decorative arts in Italy and beyond. But for an extensive and exhaustive analysis, see also in, Andrea Brustolon, 1662-1732. Il Michelangelo del legno (AA.VV., exhibition catalog, Belluno, Palazzo Crepadona March 28 ; July 12, 2009, Milan 2009, ad vocem).