67 - Ercole Ferrata (workshop of)

Ercole Ferrata (workshop of) The Baptism of Christ, between the fifth and sixth decades of the 17th century. Carved and gilded wood. 50 x 65 x 29 cm This refined wooden sculpture depicts the Baptism of Christ, with Saint John the Baptist standing as he pours water over the head of Christ, who is kneeling to his right. The composition, characterized by the figures’ pronounced dynamism and a vigorous treatment of the drapery, has been attributed by Simona Sperindei to the workshop of Ercole Ferrata, one of the central figures of 17th-century Roman sculpture and among the leading exponents of the artistic tradition developed between Alessandro Algardi and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The scholar dates the work to between the fifth and sixth decades of the 17th century. The group’s compositional framework is directly rooted in the Algardian tradition. In fact, Sperindei identifies the *Baptism of Christ* sculpted by Alessandro Algardi in 1646—later donated to Innocent X Pamphilj—as the fundamental prototype for this composition. The popularity of that model is documented by numerous terracotta and bronze versions, including the examples preserved at Palazzo Venezia, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and in the Corsini Collection. It is also particularly significant that the inventory drawn up upon Ferrata’s death listed both a wax model of Algardi’s *Baptism* and its corresponding mold, which was likely used for subsequent variations. The group presented here, however, is not a simple replica of the prototype. The figure of John the Baptist, depicted in a standing position, introduces a substantial variation from Algardi’s composition. Sperindei highlights its close relationship with the Saint Andrew created by Ferrata in 1655 for the façade of Sant’Andrea della Valle: the vigor of the twist is similar, as is the incisiveness with which the torso and anatomy are modeled.Even more distinctive is the treatment of the drapery. The garments wrap around the bodies in deep, sharp, almost jagged folds, a far cry from the more fluid modeling that would characterize much of late Baroque Roman sculpture. It is precisely this “overwhelming materiality” of the fabrics that constitutes one of the most compelling elements for situating the work within Ferrata’s oeuvre. The scholar links this approach to the Saint Bernardino in the Chigi Chapel at Santa Maria della Pace, the Saint Joseph in the Gavotti Chapel at San Nicola da Tolentino, and, above all, with the Saint Agnes for the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, where the same effect of drapery lifted and suspended in space is evident.The attribution to Ercole Ferrata’s workshop gains further credence when considering the significance of the sculptor’s work in wood. Sources, in fact, mention numerous works executed in this material within his flourishing workshop, where figures destined for great success were trained or worked, including Lorenzo Ottoni, Camillo Rusconi, Michel Maille, and Giovan Battista Foggini.The particularly high quality of the group has also led the scholar to suggest that it was commissioned by a prestigious patron. In this regard, the documentary evidence concerning the Chigi collection is of particular interest: in 1666, another group depicting the Baptism of Christ was recorded at Fabio Chigi’s Casino alle Quattro Fontane, attesting to the popularity of the subject within the major Roman collections of the time.The work’s significance therefore lies not only in the quality of the carving but also in its role within the transmission of models in Baroque Rome: from Alessandro Algardi’s original design, to the availability of his models and molds in Ferrata’s studio, to their reinterpretation by the workshop. In this sense, the group constitutes significant evidence of how major Roman sculpture of the seventeenth century functioned, in which models, waxes, terracottas, and molds served as fundamental tools for the dissemination and transformation of the masters’ inventions.Published: S. Sperindei, “A Wooden Sculpture from the Workshop of Ercole Ferrata: The Baptism of Christ,” *Horti Hesperidum*, VIII, 2018, I, pp. 383–395, fig. 1. In the article, the work is reproduced as “Workshop of Ercole Ferrata, The Baptism of Christ. Rome, private collection.” Bibliography: S. Sperindei, “A Wooden Sculpture from the Workshop of Ercole Ferrata: The Baptism of Christ,” in “Horti Hesperidum,” VIII, 2018, I, pp. 383–395, fig. 1.